The Lost Children of Atlantis
by pdljmpr6
Summary: A mysterious group of young people come to Atlantis with an offer the team can't refuse. But it becomes clear the Lanteans new 'allies' have some big secrets that could put everything, and everyone, in jeopardy. Est. Ronon/Keller and budding Shep/Teyla
1. First Impressions

**A/N:** I have been working on this fic for a while and I think I'm finally ready to start posting. I realize this fandom isn't as review devoted as others, but if you feel inclined to tell me how you feel...it wouldn't bother me to read it in the least. In fact, I'd rather enjoy it...

**A/N2: **Takes place at the beginning of Season 5, I guess between Search and Rescue and everything else.

**Disclaimer**: I'm saying this one time and one time only. Not mine. If they were, Ronon wouldn't be wearing that fake-ass wig this season. Ugh! He also wouldn't wear shirts. Or pants.

**Chapter One– First Impressions**

"I could always just hack into the personnel files and find out."

"Do that, McKay, and everyone on Atlantis and the Deadalus knows your first name within the hour."

McKay blanched. "You wouldn't."

John turned slowly to face his Chief Scientist in the co-pilot chair. The unmistakable smirk on his face gave McKay all the answer he needed and he turned away huffily.

Teyla leaned forward from her seat behind McKay. "I do not understand. Is there something," she paused, searching for the appropriate word, "undesirable in your culture about letting others know one's age?"

She waited, but the two Earthlings in the front seat remained conspicuously silent, seemingly engaged in their respective control panels.

She turned to look at Ronon, but he only shrugged.

"I am thirty-three years old by Earth standards," she stated, hoping this would alleviate the Colonel and Dr. McKay's discomfort. She glanced between them but neither moved.

"Twenty-eight." Ronon's voice vibrated low in the cabin. Both McKay and Sheppard turned to look at him.

"What?" He asked, defensively.

"Twenty-eight? That's it?" McKay sounded stunned.

"Yeah. Why?" Ronon sat forward, challengingly leveling the scientist with his stare.

"Oh, um, nothing. Nothing," he turned quickly back around. "You're young, that's all."

"And you, Dr. McKay?" Teyla asked quickly, hoping to save McKay from Ronon seeking clarification on that statement.

"Hm? Oh, me? I, uh," McKay stammered, Sheppard was looking at him out of the corner of his eye so he straightened in his chair, "I have nothing to hide. Thirty-two."

Sheppard scoffed. Loudly.

"What?"

"No _way_, are you thirty-two."

McKay started to protest but then seemed to decide it was pointless, "fine. Thirty-seven," he pouted.

Sheppard seemed satisfied with this answer but didn't seem to feel compelled to give his own age, even as everyone else in the small ship turned to stare at him.

"Colonel?" Teyla coaxed with a small smile.

Sheppard didn't move, "what?"

Teyla sighed, "Colonel, I assure you that we will not…"

"What the hell?" Sheppard's body suddenly tensed, and Ronon sat forward, instantly on alert.

"What is it?" He rumbled, his eyes searching the view screen for a sign of danger.

"I'm getting a weird reading up ahead."

McKay hit a few controls and then brought up the HUD, "It's like a hyperspace window but…not."

"Well that's why I said 'weird' Rodney," Sheppard glared at the HUD. They were practically orbiting Atlantis after returning from the mainland and the Deadalus was already halfway to earth, so a hyperspace-type-thing was definitely a cause for concern, "What the hell is it? And why didn't Atlantis' long range sensors pick it up?"

"I don't know. We're monitoring all wraith ships in the area, none were on their way here."

"Do we need to shoot it?" Ronon added.

"Ah, yes, Conan, because the 'shoot first, ask questions later' tactic is always so successful."

"It's worked pretty well for me," Ronon retorted evenly.

"Yes, well, those of us with more brain than brawn have found…"

"McKay."

"_What_?"

"They're here." The whole cabin held their breath at Sheppard's words, and waited.

"Are we cloaked?" McKay was wide-eyed staring through the view screen at a ship that looked to be about the same size as theirs, but more streamlined and powerful looking than the bulky jumpers.

"No."

"Then why haven't they fired on us?"

"Perhaps they mean us no harm," Teyla proposed.

"Sure, because _that_ happens all the time," Rodney replied with patented sarcasm.

"They're hailing us."

Everyone turned to Sheppard.

"Hailing us? We can do that?"

Sheppard punched up a control near his right hand that was blinking slowly and the HUD was replaced with a picture of a young man and woman, little more than twenty each, seemingly staring directly at them.

"Apparently, we can."

"Unidentified 'Lantean craft. This is Jorain of the Ship Tepe. We come in peace, please respond." The young man spoke even and clear with no sign of malevolence. The girl beside him remained silent, green eyes seemingly burning a hole in the view screen.

"Can they see us?" Ronon asked, glaring at the view screen.

"Not until we open a channel. I don't see any power fluctuations to indicate weapons," he said, then added in a slightly disbelieving tone, "It doesn't look like they're going to try and kill us."

After a moment, a click and static sounded in the cabin, signifying that Sheppard had opened a channel.

"This is Col. John Sheppard of Puddle Jumper One. How can I help you Jorain?"

At the sound of his voice the girl's eyes sharpened and something briefly crossed Jorain's face, but it disappeared almost instantly before Sheppard could make out what it was. Behind the pair three more heads crowded around into the space left between the chairs, these looking even younger than the first two.

"Col. Sheppard, I am pleased to make your acquaintance," Jorain dipped his chin slightly in greeting, "I must insist that I speak with you and the other leaders of Atlantis regarding a matter of utmost importance."

"Really? Well, why don't you tell me what you need them to know and I'll relay the message for you. They're kind of hard to get a hold of, what with Atlantis being destroyed and all." The faux casualness in his tone went unnoticed by none of his team. The air grew tense.

The girl to Jorain's right sat forward, a few of her wild black curls falling into her eyes, "We know it's not destroyed Col, and if we wanted to do it harm we would have disabled your ship as soon as we left hyperspace. We just want to talk."

Sheppard raised an eyebrow and Jorain placed a hand on her arm to silence her.

"And you are?"

The young pair exchanged glance, and Sheppard almost laughed to see that they seemed to be silently arguing.

"Cam." She said finally.

"Cam," Sheppard repeated, a hint of disbelief in his voice. Behind him and to his right, Teyla raised an eyebrow.

"What my companion means to say," Jorain said smoothly, "is that we are in need of your help and we have information that you may find useful."

"Oh, really? Like what?" McKay challenged.

They all felt the air in the Jumper freeze over at the mention of the name that fell off Jorain's lips.

"Micheal."

_TBC_


	2. Valuable Information

**A/N:** Thanks for all the awesome reviews, even one word ones make me giggle like a schoolgirl (nauseating isn't it?). This chap is a lot of exposition but it's necessary so I hope you'll bear with me. I tried to keep it interesting, let me know how you think I did.

**A/N2: **Yes, this takes place at the beginning of Season 5, but I like Col. Carter so I am pretending she didn't get shafted by the IOA and that she's still on Atlantis.

**Disclaimer**: See Chapter 1

**Chapter Two – Valuable Information**

Another table had been brought into the conference room to accommodate all the extra people.

At the head of one end of the table sat Samantha Carter, to her right were John, an empty seat for Rodney who had yet to arrive, Teyla and then Ronon.

Beside Ronon, at the other end of the table, sat the alien who called himself Jorain. He had soft, longish golden hair that curled around his ears where the high collar of his dark green tunic ended. To his right was the girl who'd sat beside him during the first communications with the jumper, Cam. She wore a midriff baring leather tank-top, reminiscent of the clothing Teyla preferred before her pregnancy. Her hair was long and curly and dark, but pulled back loosely to reveal muscular arms, a strikingly neutral face and green eyes.

Beside her was the only other man of their group, though he was more of a boy than anything. He wore a sleeveless black tunic and had blue eyes, which stood out unsettlingly next to his dark hair and tan skin. He watched everyone in the room intently, but so far, had said nothing.

Next to the boy, across from John and Rodney's seat, were two more females, looking to be at that age that was a strange combination of both woman and child. The one closest to Carter had jet black hair pulled back in a tight, high ponytail and dark eyes. The other girl sported light blonde hair that was cut short in back of her head and fell long in front. She sat forward with her hands clasped and resting on the table, aside from Jorain, she seemed to be the only one completely at ease in their situation. The two youngest girls were fair skinned, while their were dark and tan.

John checked his watch several times while waiting for Rodney to get there, but was always studying the group of newcomers closely. The two youngest girls and Jorain seemed to be calm, even relaxed, but Cam's tension was obvious and the boy sitting beside her looked like a coiled spring. He glanced at Ronon, the Satedan's nearly imperceptible expression telling him he had observed the same.

Suddenly Rodney rushed in, receiving a muttered, "nice of you to join us," from John when he sat down. He rolled his eyes at her comment and grumbled about 'saving the city' as Carter spoke up.

"Well, now that we're all here," Carter began, giving a meaningful look to Rodney who didn't bother to acknowledge her as he set up his laptop, "Perhaps introductions are in order. I'm Col. Samantha Carter, you've already met Col. Sheppard. This is Dr. Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagen and Specialist Ronon Dex."

Jorain nodded at each person in turn, reflecting the appropriate amount of interest. Enough to be respectful, but not so much as to seem suspicious.

"I am Jorain Commander of the ship Tepe. We are of the planet Yanaris," he nodded at the girl beside him and she sat forward a bit, folding her hands in front of her.

"As I said, I'm Cam, second in command of the Tepe. This is my brother Alin, our tactical operative," she tipped her head in the direction of the boy to her right, who was watching her closely as she spoke. Sheppard and Teyla raised their eyebrows at the visitors, who seemed to have barely broken the threshold of adolescence, yet who spoke of their names and ranks as if seasoned soldiers.

"I go by Kaila, I'm the chief scientist and expert in Ancestral and Wraith technology," the next girl, the one with blonde hair, announced confidently. McKay scoffed from across the table and she narrowed her light eyes at him, "is there a problem?"

"No of course not," he sat back from his computer, "I'm sure the fact that you're one of maybe three groups of people we've met in this entire galaxy with hyper drive technology _and _claim to have an understanding of, not only Ancient, but also Wraith technology - I'm sure that's no cause for concern whatsoever."

The girl's chin jutted out defensively, "well I'm sure if you were a little less paranoid you wouldn't have such problems with…"

"Kaila."

The 'Lanteans turned as Jorain's one word warning stopped Kaila in her tracks, but her face remained un-yielding and defiant.

"And you?" Carter asked with a smile in an attempt to break the tension. She looked at the girl sitting quietly, even shyly, to her left.

She looked up, flipping her long black ponytail off her shoulder.

"Liz-s-Sarii. Liz-Sarii. Most people call me Sarii." She added quickly, looking back down at her hands and twisting them nervously in her lap. Teyla tilted her head slightly and John exchanged a glance with Rodney. Ronon was the only one to catch a slight roll of Co-commander Cam's eyes, "I'm the pilot."

"A pilot," John repeated, turning a small smirk on the girl who could barely muster the courage to look him in the eye.

"Yes," Jorain said, drawing the attention back to himself, "My sister. She too is well versed in the Ancestral tounge. And she can fly anything," he stated the last part with a bit of pride in his tone. At hearing this John's eyebrows nearly touched his hairline, but he said nothing, "During our first communiqué I thought it best we," he glanced at Cam, "take the lead. But I assure you the pilot's chair is always Sarii's."

"Excuse me if this seems… discourteous but, you are all very young, are you not?" John felt himself relaxing slightly at the sound of Teyla's voice. Once again the Athosian had managed to find a tactful way to broach the one topic every one of them had on their minds.

Jorain dipped his chin in acknowledgment, "I'm sure to you we do seem very young but do not let that detract from the importance or truth of our message. And I would hope you would not underestimate us or our abilities simply do to our age." A couple of his party nodded in agreement.

"How young exactly? Out of curiosity," John asked, bolstered by Teyla's straightforwardness.

"I am twenty-three." Jorain didn't blink, and John had the feeling it was the first whole truth he'd heard from the man all day. "And my sister is nineteen, as is Kaila. Cam is twenty and Alin is seventeen."

"Wow, you weren't kidding." Rodney said, his fingers pausing in their constant tapping on the keyboard of his laptop.

"Kinda young to be commanding a ship," Ronon didn't really say it like a question, but the Yanarins took it that way.

It was Cam who answered, "We are the last of our people. Our choice was to learn to fight or die off with everyone else," there was no faking the fire in her eyes and bitterness in her tone as she spoke, and no one had any doubt that what she said was the truth, "we were raised to fight."

Teyla sat back from the table a mixture of regret and understanding in her eyes. John knew how she felt.

"Alright, now that that's taken care of," Carter said, bringing everyone back on task, "I believe you had some things you wanted to share with us?"

Jorain took a deep breath and began speaking with ease and practice, Sheppard wasn't sure if his calm demeanor was a good thing or not. Considering the fact that neither he nor Ronon were making any attempt to disguise the fact that they were armed and there were two Marine's holding p-90s at the door, it either meant that his guests were confident and honest, or crazy and dangerous. So far he just couldn't tell which for sure. He tried to glance subtly toward Ronon, to get a clue from the man, but he was focusing on sizing up their visitors and either didn't notice Sheppard's stare, or didn't care to acknowledge it.

"Yes, information about the wraith hybrid named Michael," Jorain caught the subtle hints in posture and expression on the adults' at mention of the name. The 'Lanteans hated this 'Michael' as much as his people did, "As you are more than aware, Michael's experiments and plans for galaxial domination are the biggest threat to face humans since the Wraith themselves."

"He's wiped out more than a million people in a matter of months between his modifications to the Hoffan drug, his Eratus Bug soldiers and the hybrids." Carter observed solemnly.

"And he must be stopped," Jorain continued, "in order to do this, we wish to provide you with information on Michael's outposts, labs and testing facilities, and his ships. Where they are, what they are for and, most importantly, how many guards he has at each one and the likelihood of finding him there."

Everyone on the 'Lantean's side of the table straightened but, as usual, Rodney Rain Cloud was right there with a pin to burst everyone's bubble.

"And how would we know you're not setting a trap? Most of Michael's facilities are shielded, we could walk into an ambush and not know it."

"We can give you the frequency his shields run on so your life-signs detectors will work," Kaila spoke up.

Rodney seemed ready to ask anther question, but thought better of it at the last moment and kept his mouth shut.

"You seem to know a lot about us and our technology. How did you come across this information?" Teyla asked carefully.

There was another one of the pensive pauses while the 'Lantean's visitors seemed to confer.

"We would prefer not to say," Jorain said finally.

Ronon grunted, "Sounds like a good reason not to trust anything you tell us."

"With all due respect, Specialist Dex," Jorain cut in even as Cam opened her mouth to retort, "if we wanted to use this information against you, we would have done that already. We obviously know the location of Atlantis, we could have easily sold that information to someone like the Genii for quite a profit. But we are not criminals or murderers. We are here as friends."

Carter nodded, "While that may be true, it is a little unsettling that you know so much about us. Should we be concerned?"

The girl to her left, with the black eyes and hair, spoke up quietly, "We mean you and your people no harm, Col. I'm sure this is very difficult for you to accept, but we assure you, no one else knows everything we do."

"What about all this information you claim to know about Michael?" Rodney said, this time not pausing in his typing, "it's not as if there is a big book of Wraith Secrets laying around just waiting for a bunch of kids to take it home and read. Ow!" He stopped typing and glared at Sheppard but the Col merely smiled at the visitors and nodded for the girl with the dark hair to continue speaking.

"We gained our information slowly, by asking a thousand questions a thousand times on a thousand worlds. The clues are scattered across the galaxy, I guess you could say we got lucky." The girl smiled and Carter couldn't help but return the gesture.

McKay, on the other hand, was still less than convinced, "Lucky? A thousand worlds? What is this 'Return of the Jedi'? Look, either tell us how you got this information, or I don't see any reason to believe a word you say."

"Rodney." John warned.

"What?"

Both Cam and Alin stiffened and the boy suddenly raised his hands, making Rodney flinch. But instead of an attack, he began making jerky movements, occasionally touching his chest or face, which was now set with hard lines of anger.

Cam stared straight at McKay, ignoring the astonished looks the 'Lanteans threw in their direction and translated her brother's signs, "_Do you always reveal the source of the information you use to take down an enemy? Or is it sometimes wiser to keep your sources hidden, so that one may return to it later and further it's use? Just because we can't tell you where we got it does not mean it cannot be trusted._" Alin dropped his hands and Cam smirked, "my brother doesn't like for his honor to be questioned."

Rodney pursed his lips and 'hmm'ed making no indication that the boy's outburst had phased him in the least. John and Teyla exchanged a look, their mis-matched group of visitors was just full of surprises.

"Okay," Carter drew out the word, once again bringing attention back to the task at hand, "Assuming your information _is_ reliable, why would you want to share it with us?"

All eyes returned to Jorain.

"Because, Col. Carter, you're among a very small group of beings in the galaxy whom we know to have the technology and weaponry able to wipe Michael from existence. You're also the only ones we believe we can trust."

The 'Lanteans relaxed slightly, a mixture of pride and satisfaction with only a hint of doubt on their faces.

"Forgive me if this sounds cynical," Rodney said, clearly not expecting or wanting forgiveness for whatever was about to follow, "but, what's your price?"

Cam and Jorain glanced at one another, "Price?"

Teyla clasped her hands on the table, "Rodney is correct. This is extremely valuable information you are offering us, surely you can't expect us to believe you want nothing in return?"

Jorain did not hesitate this time, but answered confidently, as if he'd anticipated the question, "All we ask is the complete and total annihilation of Michael and his kind. That will be payment enough."

This time John looked at Carter. It still seemed too good to be true, seemed like too much for too little. He'd yet to meet a race in the Pegusus galaxy that didn't expect food, medical equipment or, more often than not, weaponry. For this reason, John wasn't surprised when the girl with blonde hair, Kaila, sat forward.

"Actually, there is something. I could use some help with the Tepe's hyperdrive engines. We burnt them out on the last trip." The girl studiously avoided the glare she was receiving from Jorain at the other end of the table and stared expectantly at Rodney.

"Oh, um, yes well, I'll be busy going over the data you'll be providing, should we agree to your terms. But I'm sure Zelenka, my second in command, will be happy to help you," he smiled what he hoped was a convincing smile.

If John didn't know better he'd say he saw the girl's shoulders slump slightly, but the bare neutral expression on the faces of all kids, say what you would, they were 'kids' to him, was firmly back in place.

"That would be most appreciated," she said, quietly.

Teyla furrowed her brows, glancing at Kaila and then Jorain and Cam, "are you sure that is all you require?"

"Yes," Jorain said slowly, "Why? Should we ask for something else?" The question was not asked in sarcasm, but in a seemingly sincere want to gain her opinion. Teyla glanced at her companions and saw that their expressions mirrored her own. So far the Yanarins had been so organized, so like soldiers in their conduct and appearance, it was almost startling to hear the uncertainty, the kind only born of youth and inexperience, expressed in his voice.

She smiled, "Well, perhaps we could give you medical supplies or farming equipment for trade of the information."

Jorain smiled, and it almost seemed out of place on the boy's calmly controlled face. John found himself relaxing at the sight of the expression, something both familiar and strange about it, "Your offer is generous, but as I mentioned, we are the last of our kind and have little need for these types of things," his smile dissolved, "all we ask is Michael's destruction."

At this Colonel Carter dipped her chin once and stood, "Well, we'll need a couple hours to discuss your offer. I've arranged for temporary quarters for all of you. Captain's Martinez and Yveski will escort you there or to the mess if you prefer something to eat."

Everyone stood and, after a salutation, the young aliens left.

_TBC_


	3. Deliberation

**A/N:** Thanks again for all the reviews, keep 'em comin'! This is a short one, it was originally part of the next chap, but I felt that made the next one too long, so this one is kinda short, just a bit of filler and a look at who the Yanarins are _away _from Lantean eyes...

**Disclaimer**: See Chapter 1

**Chapter Three – Deliberation**

"Trust them? Go with it? They're a bunch of kids!" McKay waved his arms wildly, his eyes bouncing between the two Colonels, looking at them as if they had completely – finally – lost their minds.

"We are aware of that Rodney, but information on how to eliminate Michael once and for all? We can't just ignore that." Carter pointed out.

They had been deliberating for almost twenty minutes. Ronon had stood and was slowly pacing near where the wall became doors, arms crossed over his chest as he listened to the discussion. Like Col. Carter, Teyla was still seated, though she seemed to have little to add.

McKay was standing and sitting in turn, depending on how vehemently he meant to protest and Sheppard was leaning against the wall twisting his black wristband absently.

"We still don't know where they got this information, or if we can trust it," Ronon pointed out.

Sheppard nodded, ignoring McKay's 'at least someone listens to reason' look. "True, but I don't get the 'lying' vibe from these kids." Everyone turned to look at him and he straightened a little under their scrutiny, "I'll admit, it's unusual, but like they said, they're the last of their kind, their people and home world were destroyed, probably by Michael himself. It could be that we are just the best way for them to get revenge."

"Or they could be working for Michael and leading us into a trap," Ronon proffered, standing near the doors, shrouded in a shadow.

Col. Carter nodded, "I agree, it's a possibility. That's why I think we should send a few of our Black Ops teams on reconnaissance in a cloaked jumper to check things out. If anything doesn't fit, we'll scratch the whole plan."

This idea met with little opposition so Carter sighed, relieved that they finally seemed to be making some progress. "Sheppard, you know your men, choose a few who would be best suited for this mission. McKay, I want you to outfit their jumpers with the conversion protocol so they can change their cloak to a shield, should the need arise. Teyla I would…" Carter trailed off when the woman made no move to show she'd heard her name, "Teyla?" After a moment the Athosian looked up and Carter smiled, "something on your mind?"

"I apologize Col. I was thinking of the boy, Alin. It is extremely unusual to meet someone with such a disability," Teyla said.

"Yeah, the Wraith usually make pretty quick work of them." Ronon agreed.

Sheppard nodded. It made sense. If you couldn't hear a wraith dart overhead, or see your people running for cover, it was likely that you would be culled, "he seems to have survived okay."

Teyla continued, "it is…curious. But I agree with you Col, I believe some 'reconnaissance' is in order. "

"So, I guess we're doing this, then." Sheppard said finally. Carter and Teyla nodded and McKay rolled his eyes.

"Damn suicidal lunatics."

SGASGASGASGA

Meanwhile…

"Real smooth _Liz-Sarii_," Cam snapped. She stood pacing one end of the quarters they'd been given, more reminiscent of a caged animal than a girl.

"Back off Camaiya." The oldest boy snapped, draping a protective arm across his sister's shoulders.

"No, _you_ back off. I told you not to bring her."

"She's the best pilot we have and with the kinds of speeds we were dealing with, we needed her," Jorain raised his chin, golden hair falling out of his eyes, "Besides, you would really have had me leave her behind?"

Cam turned away, refusing to answer, and it fueled Jorain's righteous indignation, "And what the hell _was_ that up there? Would it have killed you to use the aliases we designated?"

"Yeah! I have to use mine. We all do!" Kaila piped up from her seat beside Alin.

"Yes but you _apparently_ don't mind asking them to help muck around in our 'hyperdrive' engines. I thought you were supposed to be smart." Cam rounded on Kaila with the agility and grace of a warrior.

"I'm the kind of smart you'll only ever dream of but I _do_ need some help with the engines if we want to get out of this place some time before the sun goes nova."

"And if they discover us in the meantime?" Cam challenged.

"They won't!" Kaila jumped to her feet, "I won't let them see anything I don't want them to see."

Jorain came to stand between them, "enough! You have both jeopardized this entire mission with your refusal to cooperate. From now on, you don't even _speak_ unless I say so, is that understood?" His voice was strong and even, and leaving no room for argument, not that that would stop Cam.

"You can't give me orders," Cam didn't know whether to be offended, angry or amused that he actually thought as much. Kaila folded her arms, she agreed but knew better than to pick a fight with Jorain. The man could talk himself out of an execution by wild _oebicks_.

"I am commanding this mission."

"You wouldn't even _be_ here if not for us."

"No, none of us would."

"That's right. And we have no way of going back so-"

"Hey, I might be able to fix that, just give me some more time," Kaila interjected.

"But even then it's not a guarantee." Cam responded, never taking her eyes off Jorain, still standing toe-to-toe with her. The only person who really could.

Alin moved into his sister's line of vision, making a few short gestures with his hands.

"Of course I want to stay. We all know this is the safest place for us."

"And we all know _exactly_ why that's not possible," Jorain responded evenly, his voice dropping lower to betray the same pain reflected in all their faces. "Every _second_ that we spend with them could mean death for all of us."

"Well, maybe it's worth the risk," Cam set her teeth and turned away. Grabbing her knife off a nearby table she slipped it into her boot and stretched quickly, "I need to clear my head, I'm going for a run. Call me when the Col. sets a meeting time."

"Cam." Jorain's deep voice stopped her as she reached for the door controls, "we knew what we were getting into when we started this, we've come too far to turn back now."

Instead of responding she opened the door and stepped through at a jog, two Marines hot on her heels.

After the door shut Jorain let his shoulders slump and he turned to the others. Kaila had her hands stuffed into the pockets of her jacket and was staring out the window at the spires of the West Pier. His sister sat beside Alin on a sofa, her head leaning against his shoulder as she stared at the door.

Alin raised his hands and formed a question.

Jorain sighed, "I hope so, my friend. I certainly hope so."

_TBC_


	4. It's A Deal

**A/N:** Is it redundant to keep thanking you for reviews?...hm. Oh well. THANK YOU! This is another short chap, technically it's the second half of the last chap, but that's really a moot point.

**Disclaimer**: See Chapter 1

**Chapter Four – It's A Deal**

Jennifer took a deep breath and rolled her head from one shoulder to the other, trying to loosen the muscles she'd strained having spent the entire morning bent over an operating table. She smiled tiredly when she went into her office and found Ronon sharpening one of his knifes, she thought it was the one he kept in his boot, with his feet propped up on her desk.

"Comfortable?"

Ronon looked up and watched as she slowly crossed her office and dropped into her chair. She leaned back and closed her eyes, completely comfortable under the scrutiny of his dark gaze.

He frowned and noted with concern the lines of exhaustion on her face and the way her hair had that slightly fuzzy, flyaway look that meant she'd just pulled off scrubs and a surgery cap.

"Long day?" He guessed, dropping his feet and carefully slipping the knife into his left boot.

Her tired sigh turned into an exhausted laugh and she sat forward, elbows on her desk, head in her hands. She answered as she scrubbed mercilessly at her eyes, "Very long. And it's only half over," she paused when she felt his rough, warm hands on her shoulders, she hadn't even heard him move. He started massaging her neck and back muscles and the way he seemed to instinctually know which spots needed what made her sigh deeply, shivers racing across her skin.

"I just spent three hours in surgery with Corporal Danileson removing a half dozen barbed darts from his back while trying not to leave gaping holes in him or scars the size of a Volkswagon," she yawned and rubbed her face again, "I never thought I'd say this, but some days I miss earth and its regular, run of the mill gunshot wounds."

Ronon stopped, turned her chair and squatted so he had to look up into her face. Her eyes were half closed and she lazily wound one of his dreadlocks around her finger as he spoke, "would it make you feel better if I shot a couple of Marines during my next training?"

"Don't you dare," she laughed quietly and swatted him good-naturedly on the shoulder, "how did your meeting with the Yanarins go?"

Ronon thought for a moment before answering, "They claim to have information on Michael that they want to give us."

She raised an eyebrow, "Just give it to us? Just like that?"

"I guess," he shrugged.

"Do you trust them?" it was an honest question, and Ronon knew she was asking because whatever he thought was what she would believe as well.

"I'm not sure. If they wanted to double-cross us they would have done it already but there's a lot they're not saying," he reached up, tucking a couple errant strawberry blone hairs behind her ear, "Sheppard figures they're offering us a major opportunity so they're allowed a couple secrets."

"That's generous of him," she squinted at him and tilted her head, "you agree with him?"

Ronon smiled and squeezed her knee, "so, lunch or a nap?"

Jennifer didn't press him to answer and covered her mouth when she yawned again. She laughed when he raised an eyebrow, "does that answer your question?"

Without speaking he took her hand, pulled her out of the chair and led the way out into the infirmary.

"Dr. Watkins, I'm taking lunch," Jennifer dutifully called out to the man looking over charts in the main room. "Lorne's training should be over about now so you'll probably get inundated with a bunch of sore soldiers in a few minutes. I put the new shipment of bandages and painkillers in the-"

"-in the supply closet beside the field kits. I know Dr. Keller. Enjoy your lunch." The man smiled and tucked one of the charts under his arm as he moved toward his office.

"Okay thanks," she smiled and was almost out of the infirmary when she suddenly turned back, "oh and Dr. Watkins there's-"

Ronon pulled her out of the infirmary before she could finish and swallowed the rest of her sentence with his mouth.

"He said 'he knows'." He muttered against her parted lips.

Jennifer didn't have the energy, or inclination, to argue.

SGASGASGASGA

Jorain smiled apologetically at the Colonels, "I'm sure she'll be here any moment, she was feeling…restless and went for a run."

Sheppard smiled and nodded, then paused as he listened to something on his radio, "from what I hear, it was quite the little jog."

Jorain made a face that could have been interpreted as embarrassment and then opened his mouth to respond, only to be interrupted by the doors swishing open behind him. Cam entered and took her seat beside Jorain, ignoring the pointed look he sent in her direction. A few seconds later the Marines who'd been charged with keeping tabs on the young alien walked through, doing their best not to look completely winded and failing miserably.

"I apologize for my tardiness." Cam muttered, folding her hands on the table, matching the way the rest of her team sat. She was hardly out of breath and aside from the sweat glistening on her skin, there was no evidence that she'd been running at all.

John raised an eyebrow at the Marines, but decided to save the 'you guys just got outrun by a girl' speech for later.

"Well, I'll make this quick, we've got a lot of work to do," Carter smiled down the table at Jorain, "We accept."

The relief was visible as it fell across the Yanarins' faces.

"I am glad," Jorain stated. Looking down the table he caught Kaila's eyes and nodded. She pulled a hexagonal chip about the size of the palm of her hand from her pocket and placed it on the table in front of McKay.

"The information we promised you," she explained in response to his raised eyebrow.

Carter nodded, "Thank you. Dr. McKay?"

Rodney looked up from where he was examining the small device, surprised and yet not, to find that it was Ancient in design.

"Hm? Oh, yes, I've uh, arranged for Radek and some of the senior members of my team to meet you in the Jumper bay in about twenty minutes, they should be able to assist you with whatever you need."

Kaila merely nodded.

"Well, Dr. McKay will need some time to look over the information and then brief Col. Sheppard and I so we can begin devising a plan of action, in the meantime…" She trailed off as the youngest boy, she'd forgotten his name, sat forward and, looking at his sister, made a couple of signs with his hands.

Cam nodded, "Alin and I would like to assist."

This time it was Sheppard to speak. "I don't think that will be necessary, we're pretty good at this whole thing."

"I'm aware, Col. Sheppard, your reputation precedes you to Yanaris," Jorain spoke up, "but Alin is a tactical genius. You'll want him there."

Sheppard was silent for several moments, studying the boy in question, trying to reconcile the fact that he, a boy of no more than seventeen, could be considered a 'tactical genius' worthy of the pride his leader so obviously displayed when talking about him.

"I'm okay with it if you are, Col." Carter said finally.

With a curt nod Sheppard sat back again, "I guess an extra set of eyes never hurt."

"Alright then. Rodney, how long will you need to look over the data?"

"Well that depends on how much of it there is and I'm sure there's some words I'll need to translate so…six hours?"

"I'll call you in two."

"But-"

"Alright," Carter moved to stand and walked down the length of the table, ignoring the glare Rodney followed her with, "I guess this makes us partners." She came to a stop beside Jorain, who stood up and took her outstretched hand.

"I guess it does."

_TBC_


	5. Team Interactions

**A/N:** _Danke _to all the readers and reviewers(I think saying it in other languages makes it seem more "fresh", lol).

**Disclaimer**: Again, he's still wearing the wig, the shirt and the pants? Then still not mine.

**Chapter Five – Team Interactions**

Ronon was walking at the base of the South East Tower. He knew this tower well, as it housed both the gym and the Mess Hall and he was there often.

After the meeting he'd wanted to go find Jennifer, but she'd gone off world briefly to administer vaccines on M7G-677. He'd then gone for a run twice in an attempt to burn off his excess energy (hence his need to find Jennifer) before the training he was giving in three hours but it didn't seem to have helped.

Ronon had no delusions as to what was causing his restlessness, spending seven years on his own meant he was intimately acquainted with the workings of his own mind. He knew he was never quite comfortable when there were visitors on Atlantis, but it was different with the Yanarins. Something different about _them_. Something strange, not dangerous just…inexplicable. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was about them that refused to be ignored, and it was leaving him fidgety and tense.

It was this inherent restlessness that found him in the Gym that afternoon, looking for someone to spar with.

He tilted his head as he approached, hearing the familiar sound of clashing bantos sticks. He frowned, he'd just parted ways with John in the transporter, something about going to talk to McKay. He knew Teyla had mentioned heading to the gym, but she'd gone to check on Torren first after leaving him in the care of one of the off duty nurses while she went to the meeting. The Atlantis personnel had been very helpful to their resident Athosian since Kanaan had died, but Teyla still preferred to do most everything on her own.

When Ronon entered the gym he was a little stunned to see who was sparring, and showing exceptional skill, at Teyla's craft.

Cam stalked around her younger brother with calculated stealth and he followed her movements flawlessly. But what was more impressive, was that his eyes were covered. Ronon stepped just inside the door and made his way along the wall toward a bench. Bantos fighting was common on many worlds, but he'd seldom come across anyone who could hold a kelti torch to Teyla's skill. But then, the Yanarins had proved to be full of many unexpected surprises.

The girl lifted her stick and brought it down quickly off to Alin's left. He jumped to the side while simultaneously lifting his own stick to block the attack she made on his right. The next movements were a blur as Cam made several attempts to take advantage of openings in Alin's posture. First his right thigh, then his left elbow, his left knee and his right shoulder. Each one was anticipated and countered, Alin deflecting the blows just seconds before they impacted. Then it all began again, this time Alin was the aggressor and Cam the defendant. He did well, seemingly sensing her movements and body placement as he backed her up across the mat with a series of strikes and deafening clashes of their sticks.

Cam felt the wall at her back and made a sudden, desperate move to grab her brother's arm, pulling it across his body and over her shoulder, stripping him of his stick and then, spinning quickly, she slammed him against the wall beside her, pushing her own stick across his neck.

Ronon dipped his chin in approval. They both showed prowess at the craft, seeming comfortable and skillful at the art of hand-to-hand combat. He wondered briefly, if this was commonplace on their world.

After a few silent seconds, she stepped back, allowing him a heaving breath and they both struggled for air. Alin pulled the blindfold off and reached for two bottles of water on a nearby bench.

"You're distracted," Cam said after a few swallows, "your movements are sluggish, your footing is off. I almost got a hit in that would have left you unconscious."

Alin glared at her and made a quick gesture with one hand. At this, Ronon raised his eyebrows. That was a sign he recognized, the Marines often threw it at one another after jibing remarks in the locker room.

Cam dropped her water and grabbed his hand, twisting it to the side and down.

"Take it back."

Alin only leveled her with a dark stare, despite the discomfort the hold was likely putting on his wrist and fingers.

Cam stepped toward him, muttering things Ronon was sure no one in the gym but he, could hear.

_I know it's hard being here, but you must focus. Put the distraction from your mind. If you're distracted, you'll make a mistake. Mistakes get you killed._

She stepped away from him and Alin dropped his hand to his side.

"Turn your implant on."

Alin didn't move, but Cam made her way back onto the mat, stretching slightly to loosen up some of the bruises that were forming on her arms and legs.

"Turn it on, Alin." She ordered, now standing in the middle of the mat, waiting for him to join her. It was then that Ronon got up and, walking past a few of the Marines that had gathered to watch, he approached the girl on the mat.

"Implant?"

She didn't jump when he suddenly appeared beside her, the way so many of the 'Lanteans did. She merely looked up at him through dark, sweaty hair.

"His hearing implant. I train him with and without it so that if it is ever disabled while in a fight he isn't left defenseless." She turned back to look at her younger brother, still leaning casually against the wall, staring at them, "he doesn't like to use it because it gives him headaches."

Alin nodded and raised an eyebrow when Ronon reached for the stick in his sister's hand. The Satedan's face didn't reveal his high approval of the fact that the boy had show such ability at _bantos _fighting without, not one, but _two _of his senses, but it was there all the same. And now he wanted to put him to the test. Alin stepped forward, accepting Ronon's unspoken challenge, and reached up to his neck where a necklace no one had noticed before lit up briefly.

Cam didn't let go right away but, after a moment, allowed Ronon to take her stick and made her way toward the outer edges of the room, where she'd just spotted Teyla.

The Athosian had been observing the sparring for almost a quarter of an hour, and had to admit she was impressed with what she saw. Cam and Alin were both very adept warriors, good instincts, fearless in a way only the young could be.

She watched the boy especially closely, he was different than the others. Not just in the way that was obvious, but in other, more subtle ways. He was cautious and watchful, she had no doubt that spending his entire life without hearing meant that he'd learned to observe even minute details that others missed. He was also much more facially expressive than the others. His eyes, she'd noticed, often betrayed emotions the others kept carefully hidden.

She gripped her bantos tighter as he and Ronon began to spar, the easy fluidity of his movements even more pronounced now that he felt he had something to prove. She didn't need to hear the conversation that had taken place between Ronon and the two aliens to know a challenge had been presented and met. He was obviously an exceptional fighter, confident in his abilities. But even more unexpected was the extreame intelligence he posessed as well. The words 'tactical genius' floated into her mind and she squinted at the boy as he sparred.

Teyla found the fierce intensity he displayed, both in the meetings as well as here in the gym, reminded her of her male counterparts on SGA1. She got the feeling that ironically, he more than any of the Yanarins, would have fit in well on Atlantis. And the sudden sadness that had plagued her after the briefing returned and she inexplicably felt remorse over not having known he and his people sooner.

She smiled congenially when she saw Cam approaching her, "You train your brother hard. Like a warrior," she said when she was within earshot. Cam turned around to watch as Ronon easily blocked a horde of Alin's blows before responding in kind.

"Harder," she said quietly, Ronon was now dealing the blows, and Teyla could tell he was holding little back. She wanted to chastise him for it, the boy was barely staying on his feet. But, so far, barely was enough and she remained silent.

Teyla paused and the two watched Ronon and Alin spar for a few seconds in silence.

"Was he born with this disability," she asked suddenly. Out of the corner of her eye Teyla saw Cam freeze and she bit her tounge, cursing herself for her mutinous curiosity, "I apologize." She said quickly, "I did not mean to-"

"No." Cam said, her face dark and hard, "he wasn't. It was a present from Michael."

Teyla frowned but waited for the girl to continue at her own pace. Cam stared blankly at the far wall, the untouched memory tumbling from her lips.

"My father was going on a trading mission with some others from our village. It was a friendly planet we'd dealt with thousands of times. My brother went along, he was only four. But when they got there, it was gone. Destroyed. Michael got there first, and he'd left friends," Cam shifted on her feet, rubbing her eyes and then her forehead, as if exhausted under the weight of her words, "a couple of his bugs were waiting for them on the other side of the ring. When dad got through, and they saw the smoke, they knew something was wrong. They tried to re-dial the ring but…the bugs got to them first. One attacked Alin and threw him thirty feet into a tree. Our doctors did all they could but…" she shook her head, "he hasn't been able to hear a thing since."

Teyla looked back at the training mats, she'd known he must be strong to survive so long when he lacked one of his senses, but to know he'd also survived being attacked by one of Michael's bugs? Admirable didn't begin to cover it. The galaxy could certainly use more like him.

Teyla swallowed and tuned back to Cam, "He is a fighter." She wished momentarily that she had something better to say, but then she realized, those four simple words really did summarize the boy well, "An extraordinary one at that," she added moments later when Alin struck the Satedan forcefully on the back of his knee.

Cam smiled, taking the words at face value and more than satisfied by them, "You think that's good? Watch this."

Teyla's eyes widened as Cam reached for a full bottle of water near their feet and without hesitation, lifted it and launched it past the Marines toward Alin's back.

Seconds later the water exploded and showered everything within ten feet. Cam's grin widened at the sight of Alin's stick still raised in the position it had been when he struck the bottle, his eyes focused on where it had come from. Behind him Ronon, who'd been about to take advantage of the boy's divided attention, stood down. Dropping his arms to his sides, his eyebrows raised in surprise and then in respect.

A few of the Marine started to cheer. Cam turned to see Teyla gaping beside her, "Well?"

"That was…" she paused and then smiled, "impressive."

Cam turned back toward the mat and felt her heart warm at the sight of Alin's face. He was smiling.

SGASGASGASGA

"Rodney, they're our newest allies. I think it would be counterproductive for our chief scientist to ignore their ship while we're making repairs." John said casually, fiddling with a few of the half disassembled devices strewn across Rodney's desk.

"Yes and have you forgotten the fact that the kilobytes of information we've just been handed has to be translated and condensed in the next couple of hours and the only person capable of doing that is me?"

"Yeah, Rodney I get it. You're a busy man. I just think it would make a good impression if you showed up, you know? Poke around for a minute to show you care."

"But I _don't_ care."

"Rodney." John warned.

"Fine fine _fine_." Rodney rolled his eyes and hit a few keys on his computer and stood, "Lets get this over with."

The Jumper bay seemed to be the current hub of activity on Atlantis. Zelenka and at least a half dozen other scientists were buzzing around the alien ship, talking quietly and taking readings from jerry-rigged tablets. In the middle of it all stood Kaila, blonde hair whipping from side to side as she dealt out orders with the kind of power and authority one would have thought a girl of her age would yet to have earned.

"You, with the hair. Yes, you! I need that tablet with the readouts from the last simulation. Thank you, now- hey! What are you trying to do? Blow us all to bits? Leave that panel alone, it's the next one over to the right! Yeah, great job Sir Killusall, next time ask before you go poking around." She seemed thoroughly disgusted at the level of competence of the scientists, but Sheppard detected a hint of amusement in her voice. He got he feeling she didn't normally get to order people around like this.

The pilot stuffed his hands into the pockets of his BDUs and leaned to the side to speak quietly to Rodney, "Gird your loins McKay, she's feisty."

Rodney rolled his eyes, "She's twelve. And 'gird your loins'? Who are you, Julius Cesar?" Despite his biting sarcasm, Mckay straightened his shoulders slightly before making his way toward the other scientists, all looking a cross between frightened and annoyed.

"So, what have you all been up to hm? Saving the galaxy one hyperdrive at a time, I take it?" Rodney clapped his hands and tilted his head on approach, his comments earning a couple of muttered curses and rolled eyes from his senior team members.

"Rodney, you're here." Zelenka approached him, throwing a glance over his shoulder to where the young Yanarin was fiddling with some cables that she'd pulled from the ceiling of their ship, "I wanted to show you the format of some of the drive crystals. They look very familiar."

"Familiar? How?" Rodney instinctively reached for the tablet Radek carried and began scanning the information on it. After a moment he looked up, his eyes wide as they fell on Zelenka and then on the ship sitting not eight feet away, "It's-"

"Well look who's finally decided to grace us with his presence."

Both McKay and Zelenka whirled around to see Kaila staring at them, a soldering torch in her right hand and a screwdriver in her left, "So tell me Dr. McKay, where did you find these guys? Were they inhabiting a planet where geniuses go to let their brains die?"

"Let me tell you something little girl, your attitude is most unappreciated. These scientists are some of the brightest minds in two galaxies."

Kaila raised an eyebrow, "Then why aren't _you _helping?"

"Well…I said 'some of'."

At this, she rolled her eyes and turned around to get back to work.

Seeing that the scientists were playing nicely, or at the very least, not about to get their hands on a Wraith Stunner for use on their visitor, Sheppard turned around to make his way out of the Jumper bay. He hadn't eaten in a while and had heard from Lorne that the Mess had managed to create some chocolate chip cookies that warranted further attention.

But, as he started to leave he caught sight of something, or someone, on a nearby jumper.

"You're kind of high up there, don't you think?" He called out as he got closer to Jumper Six. One of the other Yanarins, he thought she was called 'Sarii', was sitting cross-legged on the roof of the Jumper, chin in hand as she watched the structured chaos play out below.

Sarii glanced down and had to push some loose black hair behind her ears in order to see.

"I like to be up high," She shrugged and quickly looked away.

John nodded, walking in a slow circle around the Jumper, trying to figure out how she'd climbed up there in the first place, "I like to go fast."

Sarii looked down at him, "good qualities in pilots."

"Yeah, Commander Jorain spoke highly of your flying abilities."

"I can fly anything," Sarii said casually, "If you put your foot right there, you should be able to pull yourself up on this."

The girl pointed to a couple of pieces of metal that jutted out from the side of the jumper and grunting only slightly, John pulled his weight up until he was sitting beside her. Breathing a little bit harder than before he crossed his legs Indian-style to match Sarii and then looked down over the edge of the jumper fifteen feet to the floor.

He blew out a low whistle, "Great, we're going to have to climb back down from here."

Sarii only smiled and then turned her attention back to the Tepe, where Kaila was heatedly explaining to one of the other engineers that if he was 'trying to fuse together two of their power outputs so they would overload the moment they started the engines he was doing a good job'. Then, feeling the man was not learning quick enough, she pushed him aside, taking control of his tablet and working dutifully in his place.

"Is she always like this?" Sheppard asked quietly.

Sarii shook her head, "No, just when it comes to her ship. She practically built it, her and her father. She's a little…protective. Doesn't like for other people to touch it or make repairs."

"Why did she ask for our help then?"

Sarii was quiet for so long that John looked over to make sure she'd heard him. She was frowning in the general direction of the others, but not really seeing them. When she pushed her hair behind her ear again he could see her worrying her bottom lip ruthlessly.

"I think she…misses having an extra set of hands," she began, carefully choosing each word, "she's been working alone for a long time. But I guess the whole 'teamwork' thing turned out to be harder than she thought it would be."

Sheppard nodded, an unpleasant, but not unfamiliar, weight settled in his stomach.

"How long have you guys been on your own?"

Sarii looked down at her lap and began picking at her shoelaces. Again, a long pause preceded her response, "Well, Kaila's mother died in childbirth. Her dad…she lost him only about two years ago. They were really close, it hit her hard." She finished off quietly, seeming to be in a bit of a trance for a moment before lifting her head bravely, and shaking it to rid herself of whatever unpleasant thoughts had been plaguing her.

Sheppard bit his lip and willed himself to stop staring at her. For the second time since they'd come to Atlantis he'd seen a glimpse of the small girl the soldier in Sarii tried to hide. He shivered slightly, this galaxy never ceased to find new ways to disturb him. He'd thought alien life-sucking monsters would be the worst thing he'd ever have to come up against, but since visiting M7G-677 the first time, he knew that wasn't the case. Watching a child's innocence be taken from them was far worse.

With a deep breath, he forced his voice to be light when he spoke again, "So, you hungry? I was on my way to the Mess for some chocolate chip cookies that I hear are actually worth eating."

Sarii's face lit up slightly and then she turned away again, "No thanks, I think I should stay here in case someone needs to sedate Kaila."

"I'll bring you back some then." John insisted, already trying to arrange his footing so he could climb back down from the top of the Jumper.

He looked up just in time to see a ghost of a smile pass across Sarii's face.

"That sounds great."

_TBC_


	6. Team Interactions pt2

**A/N:** Haha, I'm starting to get guesses as to who the kids are. I love it. **SPOILER/HINT(don't read this if you don't want to inside information about the fic): **I am writing this, and functioning under the belief, that the team would often subscribe to the "it takes a village to raise a child" school of thought.

**A/N:** This chapter is for all the John/Teyla shippers, hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer**: See chapter 1 or 5. Your choice.

**Chapter Six - Team Interactions Pt. 2**

"May I?"

Jorain looked up from his 'roast beef' and saw Teyla standing to the side, her eyebrows lifted in question. With a nod, he motioned toward the seat directly across from himself, "Please."

Teyla sat down and smiled as she cut her salad into more manageable sizes, "I've just left Co-Commander Cam and Tactical Officer Alin in the gym sparring with Ronon."

Jorain nodded with a knowing smile, "I am not surprised, they spend many hours in our own training facility. Alin is usually reasonable, but I often have to drag Cam away from the _bantos _so that she may eat and sleep."

"She seems to train very hard."

"Yes, too hard I think sometimes," he said quietly, "not that I can blame her."

Teyla opened her water and smiled at a few passing doctors she recognized. Jorain's words registered moments later, "blame her?"

Jorain looked over from where he'd been staring at his plate as if lost in thought. He hesitated before responding, "Their parents were very adept fighters, her father trained them in all forms of combat from a very young age. But, even so, they lost their father to the wraith and their mother to Michael. I think Cam believes if she can train Alin to be a better fighter than anyone else, she'll never have to lose him as well."

"I see." Teyla looked back down at her food, pushing it around for a few moments in response to the sudden tension in the air between them, "You're ship, it's very impressive." She said finally, attempting to introduce a less painful subject.

Jorain nodded, "As is your city."

"Well, Atlantis was built by the Ancestors, how is it that your culture came to be so technologically advanced without being stopped by the wraith?" She asked, tilting her head.

Again, the dark cloud of too many things seen and done fell across Jorain's eyes. "Our 'advancement' has come at the cost of many lives. But, mostly we worked underground like the Genii, trying to come up with a viable way to defeat the wraith, and later, to defeat Michael."

"You know of the Genii?"

Jorain frowned, "Yes, we traded with them for many years before either people was aware of the other's technology. And when we did, tension grew quickly. We severed all ties with them when it became clear that their leaders were corrupt," he sighed, no longer actively eating his food, "but our complexes were not nearly as large as theirs. Our population lived above ground, merely the research and technology was below."

"I see. That is fortunate." Teyla pushed a piece of lettuce around in French Dressing, "I wanted to tell you that we are very grateful for the opportunity you have brought to us to defeat Michael."

"I am grateful you accepted." Jorain dipped his chin and met Teyla's eyes for a moment. For the first time, a look of complete trust and understanding passed between them.

SGASGASGASGA

"Hey Buddy, how'd the sparring go?" Sheppard greeted Ronon as he rounded a corner and the Satedan stepped from the transporter. They made their way to the Mess Hall together, "I heard Captain Roth saying a couple of the Yanarins are pretty good fighters."

Ronon only grunted but Sheppard caught sight of a dark purple bruise forming on his right shoulder.

He hissed, "Ouch. Where'd you get that?"

Ronon glanced down, as if he'd forgotten the injury that was no doubt throbbing with every movement, "Cam."

Sheppard's eyes widened and they grabbed food trays, "That girl did _that_? Not even most of my guys can get a hit like that in on you. Where is she? I feel like I should congratulate her."

"Infirmary." Ronon answered, nodding at the cooks as they piled meat and vegetables on his tray.

"You put one of our new allies in the _infirmary_?" John didn't sound surprised so much as annoyed.

Ronon shrugged and watching with interest as Sheppard motioned for two bags of cookies. "It was an accident."

John rolled his eyes and shook his head. Ronon's expression hadn't changed as he spoke, but John had spent enough time with the man, and received enough of his own trips to the infirmary, to know when there was self-satisfaction in his voice, "Yeah. Accident. Sure."

The two were quiet as they finished their trek through he line, held up a few times by indecisive scientists or famished Marines, and Ronon toyed with the idea of bringing up the strange interaction he'd witnessed in the gym. In the end, he decided it didn't warrant mentioning…yet.

"Colonel, Ronon, would you care to join us?" Teyla smiled sweetly and waved at the two members of her team as they weaved through the tables scattered across the room. Jorain nodded in greeting as they took the two vacant seats.

"Jorain and I were just getting better acquainted." Teyla smiled at the visitor and then set to finishing her salad.

"What a coincidence, Ronon was just doing the same down in the gym," Sheppard dug into one of the bags of cookies and motioned towards Ronon's bruised arm.

Jorain followed his gesture and his eyes widened, "Cam did that?" He asked, in disbelief, and then his face darkened with annoyance. "My apologies, sometimes she gets…carried away."

Ronon grunted and shrugged with his un-injured shoulder.

"Where is Cam now?" Teyla asked, pushing aside her tray and allowing John to steal the last of her bread.

"She's probably still in the infirmary."

"Ronon!" Teyla glared across the table.

"What?"

Jorain's head whipped up, "Infirmary?"

John winced, "Yeah, I'm sure she's fine," then turning to Ronon, he said under his breath, "she wasn't unconscious or anything, was she?"

Ronon shook his head.

"See? She's probably fine. Don't worry, we've got the best doctor in the galaxy down there, she's in good hands."

John's calming words fell on deaf ears as Jorian quickly wiped his face with a napkin and stood.

"I'm sure she is, but I must take my leave of you," he gathered his mostly untouched tray and bolted from the Mess.

"See what you did Chewie. Way to bond with the new allies," Sheppard shook his head and dug into his food.

Ronon just returned to his plate, "It was an accident."

"Yeah, you said that," Sheppard said, not sounding at all convinced.

"Where is Dr. McKay?" Teyla asked, sipping her tea slowly while she waited for the men to finish.

"I left him in the Jumper Bay a few minutes ago, convinced him to see if he could lend a hand to the Yanarins." Sheppard wiped his face with a napkin, "Their scientist-"

"Kaila." Teyla supplied.

"Yeah. She's a real piece of work," he shrugged, "but then, geniuses tend to be that way. Sarii, their 'pilot', was down there too."

"Is that who these are for?" Ronon nudged the extra chocolate chip cookies on the Col.'s plate.

"Well I was talking to her and I figured she might be hungry but she didn't want to leave the bay. I told her I'd bring her some. _That', _by the way, is how you make new friends."

"By bringing them cookies?"

"No, Ronon, by showing them you're a nice, personable guy." Sheppard smiled, pointing at himself and Ronon rolled his eyes.

"It was a nice gesture John," Teyla assured him, teasingly glaring at Ronon.

"Yeah. Nice." Ronon balled up his napkin, "I gotta go. Giving a training in fifteen minutes. See you for sparring later Sheppard?"

"Unless you plan to send me to the infirmary too."

"Always," Ronon grinned and walked away, leaving John grumbling under his breath.

Teyla smiled, rising from her chair, "I must go get Torren before Nurse Thompson goes on duty, she agreed to keep him a while longer while I went to the gym but now I am sure she's had her fill," she sighed and they weaved throught he rows of tables and chairs, "This 'colic' is an extreamly difficult phase, last night I couldn't get him to stop crying until three in the morning."

"You know, I could um," John shrugged, biting his lip uncertainly as they made their way to the doors, "help you out, if you want. With Torren I mean. That way if you have trouble getting him to sleep I could take over for you and then at least you could get some rest."

Teyla smiled gently, putting her tray in a pile on top of the garbage bin, "That's very kind John, but I wouldn't want to trouble you."

"It's no trouble. I promise." He realized he's said it a bit quickly and turned to lead the way out of the Mess. Teyla smiled again, this time out of amusement and touched his arm, hoping to put him at ease.

"Then I would appreciate that."

John looked up and smiled in return as they stepped inside the transporter.

_TBC_


	7. All too Familiar

**A/N:**Still loving the guesses, and the reviews (gracias!). So, I'm hoping you guys are as in love with the Yanarins as I am because...this chap is pretty much inundated with them. I try not to do that, but bear with me if you're only reading this for the team stuff. Happy hint hunting! Some biggies in this chap.

**Disclaimer**: See chapter 1 or 5. Your choice.

**Chapter Seven – All Too Familiar**

"Cam?" Jorain rushed into the infirmary, eyes darting from one bed to the next in search of his comrade.

She was in the main room but off to the side a bit and separated from the others. She sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed holding a piece of gauze against her cheek. She didn't look up when he called her name, instead she was staring at the other end of the room. When Jorain got closer he could see she was watching Dr. Keller tend to a soldier nearby.

"He came in a few minutes ago, he has a compound fracture in his left arm," she began without pretense, speaking without thinking, "those have a high threat of infection because-," she paused and stiffened for a moment, "anyway, she's short staffed so I told her I could wait."

Jorain nodded, standing close enough to the bed that he could feel the tension coming off her in waves. He gently reached out and took her chin between his thumb in fore-finger, turning her head away.

"You're staring." He said in a hoarse whisper when she finally looked at him. Cam immediately dropped her eyes to the floor, only allowing them to flicker back to Dr. Keller twice.

"I know. Alin was doing the same. I sent him back to the room," she glanced again at Dr. Keller who was smiling encouragingly at the Marine as she had him lay back on the bed, summoning a couple of other doctors who were nearby, "It was too hard on him."

Again Jorain nodded, he moved his hand from her chin to the side of her face, pushing some of her unruly dark curls back behind her ear. "And you?"

She looked up and he could see the muscles in her jaw flexing as she ground her teeth together, "I'm fine."

"As usual," Jorain said, his voice slightly sarcastic. Cam started to respond, but stopped when Jorain suddenly stepped away. She followed his gaze and saw Dr. Keller approaching, pulling a tray of instruments along beside her.

"Okay, I'm back. Sorry about that. Ensign Fritz just got back from MG9-304 and has a compound fracture from a landslide and…" she stopped and blushed lightly at the perplexed looks on both the Alien's faces, "sorry. I guess you don't really care about all that, huh?" She smiled kindly and took a deep breath, "okay. May I see your cheek?"

Cam gingerly removed the bloodstained gauze. Dr. Keller stepped up close and touched her face with her cool fingers. Cam closed her eyes and began taking concentrated, deep breaths. She was glad for the stability Jorain brought her when he slipped his hand into hers. Dr. Keller didn't seem to notice.

"I'm sorry, but this might hurt a bit," she smiled apologetically as she reached for a needle on the tray, "I'm thinking you'll need about nine stitches."

Cam opened her eyes and watched as she prepared the needle, she shrugged. "I'm used to it."

Jen raised her eyebrow and Jorain squeezed her hand, frowning.

"You are?"

Cam ignored Jorain's warning look and pulled her hand away, needlessly running it through her mass of curly hair. "Yeah. I've been sparring since I was little. Got my first set of stitches when I was eight. Six of them." She pointed to a small scar on her bicep.

Keller raised her eyebrows and nodded approvingly, "hardly any scar. You obviously had a good doctor."

Cam grinned and Jorain stiffened, "yeah, our doctor was pretty kick-ass."

Jen titled her head and gave both the Yanarins a funny look before smiling tightly.

"Well alrighty, let's do this then, shall we?"

SGASGASGASGA

It was well past midnight when Rodney left his lab. He'd finally finished going through the information the Yanarins had provided them on Michael. Some of it they'd already compiled from the hard drive he'd retrieved from the collapsed complex before rescuing Teyla. But some of it, a lot of it, was new and would need to be validated by the black ops teams.

He yawned and stretched as he made his way to the transporter, pulling off his jacket and draping it over his shoulder. His original estimate of six hours had been generous, and yet still not enough, it ended up taking him eight hours all together, three of which he'd spent reviewing what he'd already deciphered with John. Carter had called him after two, as promised, and Rodney in no uncertain terms explained to her the exact magnitude of information he was dealing with and the need to sort and translate it properly.

She got the hint and didn't bother him again. A fact for which he was both surprised with and thankful for.

Despite his exhaustion, Rodney decided to make a quick stop by the jumper bay to see how Zelenka and the others were doing on the Yanarin's ship.

He'd forgotten the late hour though, because when he got the there the bay was deserted, all the scientists having gone to eat and then get some rest before coming back and trying to do it all again tomorrow.

He sighed and was about to leave when he heard movement and a clang like the sound of a dropped piece of equipment.

Curious, he made his way further into the bay and found one light on in the large darkened room. It was the one illuminating the workspace around the Yanarin ship. And after a few moments, Kaila appeared, blonde hair pulled back in a couple of messy clips. She exchanged one tablet for another and hit a few different keys on it and was about to throw it aside in disgust when she suddenly froze. Then, snapping her fingers several times, she grinned, snatched up a few disowned crystals and hastily made her way back onto the ship where she had a floor panel open and it's contents exposed.

"Hey, you're uh, up late." He said, stepping closer although it was against his better judgment to do so.

Kaila's head popped up out of a hole in the floor of her ship, where she'd had a handful of colorful circuits and a couple of small drive crystals splayed out around her.

She frowned, "what time is it?"

He surreptitiously glanced at his watch, "after midnight."

"Oh," she shrugged, descending back into her task, "I guess. I always stay up this late. It's the only time I ever get any work done."

He picked up one of her discarded tablets and began scrolling through the information it contained.

"How are the repairs coming?"

Kaila didn't get a chance to respond, any words she might have had were cut off by a mini-explosion that sent sparks flying up and around her face. Coughing, she jumped back from the hole in the floor and cursed loudly.

She looked up to see Rodney had both eyebrows raised, "That good, huh?"

"Yeah. That good," she glared and then crawled forward again, getting back to work, "Of course I would probably have been done by now if it weren't for those sad excuses for astrophysicists and engineers you sent up here. I could've out-calculated them when I was seven." She continued, grumbling under her breath and pushing stray hairs from her eyes.

"Oh and what are you now? Nine?" Rodney asked irritably. He'd handpicked every one of the scientists under his command, he'd be damned if some child was going to come around and dispute his decision.

"I'm nineteen," She brought her head up, "and don't get snippy with me. It's not my fault half your scientists don't know thermodynamics from quantum mechanics. I have more brain cells in my left arm than most of them have all put together."

Rodney was tired, kind of hungry and it was way past midnight. He didn't need this. "Find. Good. You and your left arm should have this finished in no time, hm?" With that he dropped the tablet on a nearby console and started to leave.

Kaila's condescending glower dissolved and she swallowed hard. Wincing, she called out into the nearly empty jumper bay, "Wait."

Rodney stopped and with a heavy sigh, turned around, "_What_?"

The girl hesitated before climbing to her feet and approaching him. She fidgeted, cracking her hands and biting her lip, "I um…I said my arm was smarter than most of your scientists, and it is." Rodney rolled his eyes and started to turn away, "_But_…it's not smarter than you."

He paused and then looked down at her. Kaila looked as if this admission literally pained her to reveal, but beyond that he could see genuine hopefulness. He sighed again.

"Alright, fine. Lets see what your problem is." He led the way back to the ship and didn't see the light of a smile cross Kaila's tired face.

"Well, I had to create a patch between sublight engines and the hyperspace actuator that is supposed to funnel more power into the drive system so I can keep us in hyperspace for more than a few nanoseconds. Only the conduits have fused and it's overloading systems like inertial dampeners and life support in all the simulations, which, as you might guess, is a problem."

"Have you tried realigning the jumpdrive crystals yet?"

"Well, that leads me to my other problem…"

SGASGASGASGA

It was nearing 1am when Sarii crawled into Alin's bed. He almost hadn't expected to see her, but would have been surprised if she hadn't shown. This had been her ritual since they were young teenagers, when her parents were off world during one particularly terrifying lightning storm and she'd sought Alin out for comfort.

She turned to face him. She had seen earlier that he favored his left side, which was riddled with bruises from his sparring match so she didn't immediatly reach out to him. Knowing he would not be the first to speak, she searched her jumbled mind for something to fill the silence.

"It's harder than I thought it would be," her whisper ended the stillness abruptly and Alin squinted in the darkness to watch her speak. He nodded. She bit her lip and frowned, she was quiet for so long he thought she'd fallen asleep and his eyes started to get heavy.

_Do you think we made a mistake by coming here?_

His eyes had been closed so she'd signed the words into his hand. Slowly, he looked at her. He tried to grab her hand but she snatched it away so that he couldn't sign his response. She closed her eyes, her request more than communicated.

She wanted to hear his voice.

Alin sighed deeply and turned to look at the ceiling. He rarely spoke aloud, but if it would be to anyone it was to Cam or Sarii.

"D-do you think s-so?" he said after a moment, struggling with the speech impediment that had plagued him since childhood.

She sighed and he could see her smile dreamily in the corner of his eye. He'd never understood why, but once, when they were much younger, she'd told him that the sound of his voice was her most favorite sound in the universe. She didn't answer, so he continued, "I-I got to s-spar with him today, and Cam s-smiled for the f-first time in…y-years. No. I d-don't think we m-made a mistake."

Sarii let his voice soak into the silence and then scooted a little bit closer to him on the bed, he turned to face her and saw her sadness as she reached for his hand again. _I hate this. Lying. The Secrets. They deserve better._

Alin freed his hand and drew the pad of his thumb across her bottom lip, wanting her release it from between her teeth. When she did, he smiled gently and brought her hand to his lips and kissed her palm, then slid his hand into hers.

_No, they deserve exactly this._

She opened her eyes, confused.

_A second chance. A better life_.

Smiling, she closed the distance between them and kissed him before tucking her small body into his and nodding. Finally, they let sleep come.

_TBC_


	8. Plan of Action

**A/N:** Hm. So, I'm sure you all noticed in the last chap, an astrophysicist I am not. And, in the same way, a tactical genius I am not. So, I did my best to come up with a brilliant 'get Micheal' plan (considering both John and Alin are supposed to be pretty good at this whole thing) and you're just gonna have to take for granted that it is, in fact, brilliant.

**A/N2:** Thanks again for the reviews, I was really excited by all the enthusiasm for the last chap.

**Disclaimer**: See chapter 1 or 5. Your choice.

**Chapter Eight – Plan of Action**

Sheppard, Carter, McKay, Cam and Alin all bent over a small scale map of the Pegasus galaxy. More than two dozen different planets and moons were tagged with yellow flags, Michael's labs and outposts that were, according to their intel, abandoned or of little interest. Another six were labeled with red flags, high interest and high security labs that Michael would chew off his own feeding hand to keep safe.

"There's only six of these main outposts, we could hit them all at once with a few well aimed drones from the jumpers," Sheppard suggested, frowning intensely at the map, "we'd seriously maim Michael's operation _and _get him on the run."

His plan met with no immediate argument and he turned to talk to Carter a bit more privately. McKay was studying the descriptions of the outposts one more time, but out of the corner of his eye he saw the two Yanarins gesturing furiously at each other.

"No." Cam said finally. Sheppard and Carter looked over.

"No?"

Alin shook his head and Cam waited until he'd made a few signs before translating.

"My brother says 'that's no good. If we spook Michael now he'll just go off and build himself a new lab that we won't know about. Then all this information will be useless and we'll be right back at ground zero'."

Carter folded her arms, thoughtfully studying the map. She glanced at Sheppard, who seemed to see the boy's point since he didn't protest, before adding, "What if we set up surveillance at some of his more heavily guarded labs. We can stay cloaked and wait for him to show up, then we'd be sure to get him when we destroy it and his ship."

Again Alin emphatically shook his head.

"That could take months, we have no way of knowing how often Michael will return or to which labs. You can't possibly have the resources to cover them all," Cam translated dutifully, "besides, he's escaped a destroyed ship before. He's too smart for that."

Sheppard had initially bristled at the open disagreement to his plan, but the boy showed exceptional insight. Still, he couldn't help the slightly sarcastic undertone in his next words, "Well, then, what would _you _suggest we do?"

The tone did not go unobserved by Cam, but if her brother noticed anything he didn't care. Instead he drew up under the scrutiny of the adults and quickly made more signs, each more animated than the last as he pointed out different flags, both yellow and red, on the map.

"We have to flush him out, make him go where we want him to. Then we have to make him believe he's won. When he lets his guard down, we make our move."

"Oh, you make it sound so easy," Rodney commented with a roll of his eyes. Carter shushed him.

"Go on," she smiled a little, "how would we do all that?"

Alin glanced at his sister and then continued, "by attacking some of his smaller outposts, and a couple of the medium importance ones. Maybe one large one. Make him think we've found out the whereabouts of his labs but we haven't figured out which ones are most important. Instinct will drive him back to the lab he cares about the most. He'll gather his data and move on to build a new outpost."

"But I thought you said we didn't want him to do that."

"We don't."

"But you just said-"

"He won't get the chance to move on. We'll be ready for him. He'll never make it off the planet."

John and Carter exchanged a look that was two parts approving and one part impressed. Alin noticed this and smiled a crooked smiled, raking his long fingers through thick dark hair. The team settled down around the table to discuss the details.

An hour later the plan was fully outlined and Cam could feel the first bubbles of adrenalin crashing into her system. She was ready, _so ready _for this. She had been waiting her entire life for this. For this moment, this opportunity. Take Michael down, once and for all. Make him pay for all the suffering he'd caused. She'd once told her uncle, just after her father and mother had been killed, that she thought there was no death too long or painful for Michael to suffer. He, of course, had been concerned that she expressed such a sentiment since she hadn't been much older than Alin at the time, but she'd meant it. The icy darkness of her tears had proven that much and he hadn't argued. Two years later her uncles had also been killed by Michael, leaving her and her team completely alone in the universe.

And Michael _would _pay for that.

Cam's attention was shifted back to the present when an argument erupted between McKay and Sheppard over which planet Michael was more likely to return to.

"I'm telling you, Rodney, it's _this _one. It's a practical test lab, everything that he ends up using goes through this place first. It's heavily guarded and he's going to want to keep it."

"Yes, and I'm sure that would be true if he were a mindless killing machine…"

"He's _wraith_. 'Mindless killing machine' is practically written in their DNA."

"Yes but he's a wraith _scientist_. Scientist, there's your first clue Sherlock. He's about the research. The data. Genius to genius, he'll go to this lab, he can't rebuild anything without his records," he paused, seeing if Sheppard was seeing his point, "it's where I would go, and lets face it, Michael's more like me than he is you."

"I'd say he's more like me," Carter said, only half-kidding. John and Rodney both glared at her, "but tomatoe, tomato."

John still seemed unconvinced.

"McKay is right, it's the lab on Greain." Cam said, Alin nodded his agreement beside her. John sighed, seeing that he was outnumbered. He looked at Rodney.

"You're sure about this? Because we won't get another shot."

Rodney pursed his lips and chanced one more glance at the map before meeting John's look squarely.

"I'm sure."

SGASGASGASGA

John bounced on the balls of his feet, impatiently waiting for Teyla to answer the door of her quarters. When she did, he was surprised to hear silence coming from the other side, but one look at the disheveled state of her hair and the exhaustion on her face told him the peace had come after a long, well fought battle.

"He's asleep?" John whispered when Teyla hooked her hand into his elbow and pulled him inside, quickly closing the doors on the hum of arguing scientists and laughing Marines outside.

"Yes, I was finally able to settle him not five minutes ago." She smiled, dropping into a chair.

"I'm sorry I didn't come by last night, McKay had something he wanted to show me about the information on Michael and it got late…"

"Do not give it further thought," she waved his concerns away, "I was about to meditate, I'm afraid I've grown hopelessly lax in my routine as of late, would you like to join me?"

John grimaced, his mind flashing back briefly to the six months he'd spent on the Ancestor planet where they did nothing _but _meditate, "Actually, if it's all the same to you, I think I'll pass."

Teyla smiled knowingly, "I thought you might say that, but I-" She stopped short as the sound of Torren's pitiful wail filled the two small rooms. Sighing deeply, she got up and dutifully made her way toward the bedroom to retrieve the child, who's cries were growing more persistent by the moment.

John watched her go, noting with concern the labored way she carried herself. Still with timeless grace, it just seemed to require more effort than usual to do so. He bit his lip and then, after a moment, followed her.

She was holding Torren and patting his back, whispering soothingly to him, though it did not seem to be helping. She began bouncing and rocking slightly, doing everything she could to pacify the child and he only cried louder. Finally, the exhaustion got the better of her and a few tears of frustration gathered and fell from her eyes.

That was all the cue John needed. He stepped out of the doorway and walked up beside her, placing a hand on her back and one on Torren's.

"Let me." Was all he said. She started to shake her head and he brought one hand up to cup her cheek, gently wiping away the tears on it, "you're not alone, remember? And you don't need to prove to me how strong you are. I've faught you at _bantos_, I already know."

She laughed tiredly at his joke and reluctantly handed Torren to him.

"Thank you John," she said, sitting on the bed and watching as he carried her baby out into the main room.

He turned back and gave her small smile, dimming the lights with a thought, "get some sleep. We'll be right out here if you need us."

Teyla smiled when the door shut behind him. Laying back, she curled into a ball around her pillow, "I know."

SGASGASGASGA

Alin cursed his tongue as he tripped over his words. He rarely turned on his implant if he wasn't in battle, and it was even more rare for him to use his voice to communicate rather than sign. But he was positively livid, and hand gestures just weren't going to cover it.

"You're not going Alin and that's final!" Cam shouted as they made their way into the quarters they'd been assigned.

"L-like hell it i-is!" He screamed back. Their heated argument immediately began to draw an audience. Kaila and Sarii emerged from the girls' room and Jorain from the boys', they all met in the common sitting area as the sibling's argument came to a head, "I-I've heard s-some p-pretty arrogant e-egotistical sh-hit from you before but this is o-over the line."

"I'm arrogant and egotistical? John could hardly get a word in edgewise throughout that entire meeting because of you're flailing around." Cam made exaggerated hand gestures to illustrate and Alin flushed deeply.

"Y-you're just m-mad because the o-only thing you h-have to offer this m-mission is a mediocre l-left hook."

Cam's mouth dropped, "Mediocre? The only thing mediocre around here is your-"

"Alright that's enough!" Jorain bellowed. Cam stopped short but didn't step away from her brother, as the two were now standing toe to toe. One false move and both would be in the infirmary before anyone could blink, "now what's going on?"

Alin finally looked away, glancing first at Sarii then at Jorain, "Y-you already know, y-you're both in this t-t-together."

Sarii stepped forward, frowning and crossing her arms, "what are you talking about, Alin?"

"T-they want us to s-stay behind. Not to g-go on the m-mission."

Sarii circled slowly on her brother, hair that was still damp from her shower dripped steadily onto the floor as she stepped toward him. She didn't need to ask, the guilt was written all over his face.

"What do you mean we can't go?"

Jorain sighed and looked to Cam for backing, she'd gone to lean against the wall, grinding her teeth and frowning deeply. She merely raised her hands in surrender and looked away, shaking her head.

"We, Cam and I, feel it would be best if you and Alin stay behind this time."

Sarii's mouth dropped, "Like hell! I'm not staying here."

"Look, Sarii, there's a very good chance we won't be coming back from this mission. It's safer for you two here."

"I see," all evidence of the shy demeanor that was usually hers faded away as venom seeped into her words, "and why, pray tell, does Kaila get to go?"

Again, Jorain glanced at Cam before answering, "we might need Kaila. Opening locked doors, hacking databases…"

Sarii pursed her lips and unfolded her arms so she could step closer to her brother, "so what you're saying is Kaila's skills are more useful, more _important _than mine and Alin's?"

"That's not what I meant Sar-"

"They were my family too!" She cut him off, tears springing to her eyes at her outburst, but she stubbornly held them at bay, "My father and mother, the same as they were yours. Alin's the same as they were Cam's. We want – _deserve _– revenge just as much as you do. I'll be damned if I've come this far just to sit around and do nothing."

Jorain grit his teeth but didn't respond right away. They didn't understand what was as stake, that there was a very good chance they wouldn't come back this time. And even if they did, it might not matter. He rubbed his eyes and sighed. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe they did understand, just a little too well.

"They're right."

All eyes turned to Kaila, who'd been silent up until then, watching the sibling rivalry unfold. All were surprised to see she was talking to Jorain.

"We swore to protect each other-"

"And that's what we're trying to do. Protect them." Cam insisted, pushing away from the wall, her hands balled in fists.

"Really? By leaving them here you really think you're protecting them? Suppose we didn't come back. They would have to stay here for the rest of their lives. You would do that to them? Knowing what we know, being who we are, you would put them through that?" She shook her head slowly, sadly, "sounds like a fate worse than death to me."

The room fell silent with the weight of Kaila's words, and the sound of their ringing true made Jorain's head hurt.

"Fine," he said finally, "fine. You can come."

Sarii's face broke into a tearful smile and she stepped forward, giving her brother a fierce hug. Over her head Jorain met Cam's eyes and he watched as she blinked away tears, chanced one haunted glance at Alin and then disappeared onto the balcony. He looked away and hugged Sarii tighter, when he looked over Alin switched his implant back off and raise his right hand.

_Thank you._

_TBC_


	9. PreFlight Protocol

**A/N:** So people are still interested in this? Sweetness. Cuz I'm still writing.

**Disclaimer**: See chapter 1 or 5. Your choice.

**Chapter Nine – Pre-flight Protocol**

John honestly didn't know how Teyla could do this everyday. He'd only been with Torren for half an hour and already he felt exhausted. He'd fed him, changed him, played with him and held him. At this point the child was just complaining. He rubbed his eyes tiredly when Torren again began to cry and John's ears perked to the slight change in pitch that he'd come to recognize as the build up to overload as far as Torren's screams were concerned. No way was she sleeping through another one of those. Hell, the whole barracks was probably awake at this point.

Thinking quickly, he searched for a pad of paper and a pen, scribbled a brief note for Teyla, grabbed Torren and left the room.

"Your mom must literally be some sort of Super Athosian, buddy, because this is just a little over the top," he spoke quietly, shifting the small child from one arm to the other as he cradled him to his chest and wandered away from the crew quarters. To his relief, the sound of his voice seemed to be soothing him and Torren began to grow quiet, "That's more like it. Now, if you could just learn to do that on cue, your mom's problems would be solved." He paused and made a face that seemed to match Torren's small frown, "Okay, maybe not solved. I mean, the wraith are still out there and Michael is still wreaking havoc on the galaxy…but I mean, at least she wouldn't be trying to contend with all of that on top of being sleep deprived."

Seeing a balcony door had been left open, John stepped outside to enjoy the warm night air. As was usually the case he got caught up for a second in the sight of the city, the intimidating, impressive spires that seemed to literally pierce the blue sky during the day all nearly disappeared at night, their sparkling lights indistinguishable from the starry blackness of the sky.

Torren's gurgling brought him back to attention and he looked down, and for a split second his dark eyes locked with the big round one's of Torren's. And in that moment he understood the gravity of the responsibility Teyla had taken in bringing this life, this small, precious life into the world. The one they had all taken on with her.

He thought of the Yanarins and the other children he'd met in this galaxy. Fear and uncertainty had been a part of their lives from the very beginning, robbing them of the childhood they rightly deserved. Was Torren to be doomed to the same fate?

The baby curled his tiny hands into fists and John watched his face scrunch up in the beginnings of a tearful scowl.

"Oh, right. You like me to keep talking. Sorry," The boy opened one eye and then the other, his chin trembling but he remained quiet. John bit his lip, "listen big guy, I think there's a few things you outta know. The universe," he sighed and looked up at the black ocean crashing into itself before him, "it's a big, scary place sometimes. And there's lots of…pretty bad stuff in it," he glanced down, "I'll spare you the details, you'll just have to take my word for it," he placed his finger in Torren's hand and the boy held it, the strength of the hold surprised John. Then he sighed, his smile fading, he was almost frightened to think how much Torren would likely need that strength in the years to come.

"I, uh, I know you've already had a pretty rough time of it, with, um, losing your dad and all. I know, well, I know about that kind of thing and if you ever…I don't know, want to talk or…I mean, we wouldn't have to talk. You could just come down to my room and we'll listen to music or go hit a few golf balls off the pier, I mean, whatever," he shrugged and Torren blinked his wide eyes up at him frowning lightly and John wondered briefly if somehow the small child knew what he was saying, and had just been reminded of his recent loss, "I just, I um, wanted you to know that sometimes that happens, you know? Around here, sometimes you lose people you care about, but there's always, _always _going to be someone here to take care of you. Alright? We have a saying around here, 'we don't leave anybody behind' and that goes double for you, okay big guy? No matter what happens, me, your mom, Ronon, Lorne, Jennifer, even Rodney. We'll always be here for you."

Almost as quickly as it had appeared, Torren's tearful frown vanished and his face smoothed, blinking his wide eyes slowly. John cradled the child close to his chest and wiggled his finger. Torren's grip on it never faltered.

"They said I might find you out here."

John turned and saw Jennifer stepping out into the dim moonlight. She wore her uniform jacket and he guessed she'd recently returned from off-world.

"Yeah, taking Torren for a little walk so Teyla could get some sleep."

Jennifer smiled, nodding. She stepped forward and tilted her head to see the baby John held so gingerly in his arms, "I've been checking on them the past few nights, trying to make sure they're both getting the rest they need. Unfortunately, Teyla's a rather…difficult patient at times."

John smirked, "I think it's requirement if you're going to be a part of SGA1."

She laughed softly and shook her head. "Look," she whispered after a moment of silence.

John looked down and saw Torren's big, bright eyes had started to get heavy and, though he fought valiantly, the child quickly lost his battle against slumber.

Jennifer smiled, gently cupping her hand against his head and smoothing down the soft, golden hair, "Ronon says that sleeping in someone else's presence is the highest sign of trust."

"Yeah?" John murmured, slightly mesmerized by the peaceful expression on the baby's face.

Jennifer nodded, caught up in Torren's innocence in much the same way as John, "I think he believes you."

John's eyes snapped over to hers and but she was already looking at him, smiling, "You're promise to be there for him. I think he believes you"

After a moment his eyes fell back to Torren, sleeping soundly in his arms, one hand still locked tightly around his finger. In that moment John knew, the promise he'd just made was one he'd be willing to die in order to keep.

SGASGASGASGA

"You don't usually drink before a mission," Jorain said stepping out onto the balcony and pointing to the glass bottle of alcohol Cam held tightly in her fist. He leaned against the railing and looked out at the water, breathing in the salty scent that he loved. Cam sat nearby on a metal bench staring at, but not seeing, the ocean.

"Yea, well, the mission I'm going on isn't usually my last."

Jorain's head whipped around, "_Don't_ say that," he warned her severely.

Cam only shrugged, her usually fiery character somewhat mellowed with drink, "why not? I'll still be thinking it." Jorain tensed and frowned deeply, but Cam either didn't notice, or didn't care. Merely clutched her bottle like a lifeline, "You know, I think a part of me knew he wouldn't stay behind. But I could never have lived with myself if I hadn't at least tried."

Jorain's posture slumped slightly under the weight of her sadness, he knew she was protective of her brother, and he knew why, but Alin never seemed to have understood.

"God, why does he have to be so stubborn? Would it kill him to listen to me just once?" She brought her right hand up and rubbed the heel of it against her forehead, "My head hurts."

At this Jorain pulled the empty bottle from her hands, "it always does when you drink."

"He's just a kid. And Michael's a monster," she continued, ignoring him entirely, her voice as dark as the ocean surrounding them, "If something happens to him-"

"You've trained him well."

"Yes, I have." She agreed, but the acknowledgment didn't ease her anguish, "I've trained him hard. Harder than anyone ever trained me. But…what if it's not enough? What if he gets hurt anyway? What if-"

"Cam." Jorain knelt in front of her and cut off her words. She looked own at him with tearful green eyes and shrank away from his touch "You're right. It might not be enough. But you've done everything, _everything _you could up 'till this point. Now it's up to the Ancestors."

Cam frowned, "is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Jorain glanced away and took a deep breath. Deciding on another tack he said, "Remember what you're dad used to say about distraction in battle?"

"Put it from your mind," she replied in a dull voice.

Jorain nodded, "put it from your mind, Cam. If you are worrying about your brother when we are on this mission your focus will be split, you will hesitate before taking your shot. That will get you killed. I intend to make sure everyone makes it back from this mission _alive_, including you," he paused and added softly, "especially you."

Cam sniffed and rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes, "don't go getting all sappy on me _commander_. My stomach's already a little weak." she jerked her chin toward the almost empty bottle of Cherq rum.

Jorain sighed and smiled, "why do you have to be so damn tough all the time?"

"Because," she smiled back but there was no humor in her eyes, "if I wasn't I'd fall apart. And who wants to go around picking up 'Cam' pieces everywhere?"

Jorain didn't reward her teasing with the smile she'd expected. Instead he stared at her, so long and so hard she grew uncomfortable and began to fidget.

"Are you scared?"

The question caught her off guard and Cam answered reflexively, "no."

Jorain dipped his chin and squeezed her knee, not allowing her to pull away.

"Are. You. Scared," he repeated, this time in a soft but demanding whisper.

Cam froze. Disbelief, then anger, fear and finally resignation passed over her face in turn. The tears in her voice matched those in her eyes when she answered, "I'm lost. I'm angry. I'm excited, I'm ready and yes. Okay? I'm scared. More scared than I've ever been in my life. Everything is at stake this time. We could lose it all, all over again," she licked her lips and shrugged almost self-conciously, "aren't you?"

Jorain closed his fingers into his hands to prevent them from shaking. Yes, he understood her fear and shared it. Could feel it breathing down his neck like a cold chill in a too-dark room.

Swallowing hard, he pulled himself up beside her on the bench. He leaned in close, his lips brushing her ear as he whispered the only words he could muster from his tight throat.

"Let me hold you. Please."

For a long time she didn't move and he almost got up to leave. But then he felt the tension slowly leaving her body as she relaxed into him. Without speaking, he wrapped his arms around her and turned, pulling her against his chest, burying his face in her hair.

They didn't move. Even as the salty wind grew cold and shocked their exposed limbs with icy air, they stayed together. Drawing warmth, and strength, from one another as they ushered in the long night.

SGASGASGASGA

Atlantis didn't really lend itself to a normal sleep pattern. And since off-world the nights and days could be switched altogether, not to mention the fact that Jennifer's schedule was always touch and go, Ronon had never really broken the habit of 'sleep when I need to, eat when I need to' that he'd gotten into as a runner.

Sometimes when he ate the Mess was full of other people taking their morning, midday or evening meals. Sometimes, like this time, it was a strange hour and the Mess was all but diserted.

The KD guys always left some food out for the night owl scientists and third-shift marines and anyone else who happened to drop by. Ronon grabbed a turkey sandwhich and a MRE bar before he headed toward the balcony. Only a noise, a voice, that sounded like it was coming from the kitchen stopped him. Tilting his head at the familiar melody, he followed it past the food counters and stainless steel refrigerators back to where they prepped the food.

_The moon shone for the very first time,  
The very first time I held you_,

It was one of their new "allies" the small one with the dark hair and quiet ways. She sung softly, almost under her breath as she mixed something pink in a metal bowl. She hadn't seen him yet and he was content to watch her unnoticed.

_I wished the ancestors would hold you dear,  
And keep you sheltered and safe away,  
The way I wished to do,_

He leaned against the doorframe, knowing instantly where he'd heard the song before and trying to think of how she would know it. He narrowed his eyes, watching her move in a way that was unsettlingly familiar. Steady and graceful.

Finally she reached up to wipe her brow and caught sight of him, freezing her movements instantly.

"How long have you been standing there?" She asked after a moment, still frozen.

Ronon shrugged and started to unwrap his sandwhich, "it's a nice song."

She bit her lip and turned, getting back to her work of stirring the pink mixture until it was the right consistency, "it's a lullaby."

Ronon nodded, "I know."

Again the girl froze for a moment, then turned to spread her mixture across the small yellow cakes that were cooling in a baking pan nearby.

"What is that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Um," she hesitated, "it's the topping. They're like a dessert-type thing."

"Hm," Ronon finished his sandwich and threw the plastic wrapping into a nearby trashcan, "you always bake in the middle of the night?"

She licked some wayward pink icing off her fingertip and then wiped her hands on her black apron, "Kaila's still working on the ship, Alin went for a run and Cam and Jorain are…I'm not really sure what they are," she shrugged, "I was bored. When I'm bored, I bake."

She turned around and pulled herself up to sit on a metal counter, biting into one of her still steaming, pink topped 'dessert things', "besides, my mind is all in knots thinking about this mission and I couldn't sleep."

Ronon nodded, watching curiously as her free hand found a loose thread on her apron and she did anything she could to keep from looking at him.

"You're all going on the mission?"

She finally looked up, answering resolutely, "Yes. Of course." He raised an eyebrow at her and, to his surprise, she returned the gesture, "we're a team. Battle brothers."

This time both his eyebrows went up, "you're too young to understand what that means."

Sarii looked indignant, "and you don't know me well enough to make that assumption."

"Really?"

"Yes. _Really_." She opened her mouth, closed it, frowned, and opened it again, "you don't trust us, do you?"

Ronon didn't answer.

She pursed her lips, "fine. You don't have to trust us. We trust each other. We _are _battle brothers, each willing to put their lives on the line for any or all of the others. And we have. Many times. I've fought at their backs, and they've fought at mine. Alin and Cam could flip someone over their shoulder before they could walk on their own. Jorain could fire a gun before he started his schooling. We were taught to fight and we've survived where others have died because of it." She hopped off the counter and took off her apron.

"And the fact that we're still here means _we _trust _you_. You don't have to return the favor," she dropped her apron on a chair as she brushed past him out the door, "but it would be nice."

_TBC_


	10. Just Lucky I Guess

**A/N:** My apologies. Although I have been dreading 'the mission' chap since the beginning of this fic (_so _not my forte) it seems to just beg to be a two parter, so you're going to have to wait a wee bit longer till we get this whole 'who _are _these kids' thing straightened out. :)

**Disclaimer**: See chapter 1 or 5. Your choice, personally, I prefer 1.

**Chapter Ten – Just Lucky I Guess**

When SGA1 walked into the jumper bay they found their new allies were already present.

The youngest boy and the dark-haired girl were sitting side-by-side on the ground near jumper 1, heads bent in deep, private conversation. The eldest boy and the blonde girl were quietly discussing something on a tablet they both shared and off to the side and back the girl with the wild hair was fingering her gun and shifting her weight restlessly . Every now and then she would bounce on the balls of her feet and would sometimes reach for the rather large looking weapon in her thigh holster only to stop and snatch her hand away again, tightening it into a fist instead.

John absently checked the clip on his p-90 and brought up the rear of his group as they made their way across the jumper bay. Lorne fell into step beside him halfway.

"We're all set, Major?"

"Yes, sir. Completed the pre-mission checks myself. Jumpers 3 and5 just got back from their 'Search and Destroy' missions and Michael's cruiser is 2 hours out on a direct heading for M95-H26," he reported, checking the clip on his own p-90.

John nodded, "Great, if we get lucky we might beat him there."

Lorne smiled and raised an eyebrow, "Us lucky, sir?"

"Don't rain on my parade, Major."

"No sir."

The Yanarins joined them at the back of Jumper 1, mixing with the group of 'Lanteans in a way that seemed natural, and therefore, unsettling.

"You guys ready?" John directed his question at Jorain but it was Cam who stepped forward, her hand resting easily on her gun, an energy weapon like Ronon's but more sleek and light.

"Are you kidding? Let's go kick some hybrid-"

"Yes, Colonel. We are ready." Jorain cut her off and Cam frowned. He gave her a slightly warning glare and she rolled her eyes, stepping onto the jumper. Her team followed behind, nodding a greeting at the 'Lanteans as they passed, and the rest of the Atlantis team followed on after them.

"Our guys finished their low level attacks on Michael's labs and his cruiser is on a direct heading for the planet," John said, bringing everyone up to speed.

"So I was right." Rodney said, smiling smugly from his co-pilot's chair.

"Yes Rodney, you were right." John muttered.

From the chairs behind them Jorain and Cam exchanged a look, the rest of their two groups were leaning against the airlock between the cockpit and the cargo hold or sitting on the benches in the back.

"The space gate closest to the planet is about two hours away, and Michael's cruiser is two hours out, so we'll get there about the same time or, if we're _lucky_" he glanced over his shoulder at Lorne, who smiled and raised his hands in surrender, "we might beat him there."

"Good," Ronon grunted, "I don't like to wait around." A couple Yanarins nodded in agreement and Sheppard smirked.

"Easy Chewie, you'll be able to start shooting stuff soon enough," he touched his radio in his left ear, "This is Jumper One requesting permission to descend."

"Permission granted, Jumper One, the gate is dialed and ready to go," Chuck answered.

John maneuvered the ancient vehicle down into the gate room and turned so they were facing the puddle.

"Be careful," he heard Carter in his ear and he half smiled.

"Don't worry Col., I'll have everyone home before dark." And with that, they were gone.

SGASGASGASGA

"Zelenka, this is Carter, come in," She'd just sat down at her desk after seeing SGA1 and Co. off and cursed when she remembered the Czech had requested a brief meeting with her earlier.

"Yes Col, just a moment."

Carter raised her eyebrows at the response, and then realized it was because Zelenka was already on his way up to her office.

"Radek," she smiled, "I almost forgot about our meeting, but I see you didn't. How are repairs on the Yanarin ship coming?"

Zelenka, like most scientists, was almost never without a tablet, and he walked around behind the Col.'s desk to show her the one he held, "That's actually what I came to talk to you about, I already showed my findings to Rodney and he concurred."

"Concurred with what?" She peered at the screen, where a blue schematic of the Tepe was rotating slowly.

"It's Ancient."

Carter's eyes widened and she reached up and took the tablet and stylus from Radek, setting it on her desk as she scrolled through his data, "you're sure?"

"Yes. Very. In fact, the underlying architecture is not unlike our Jumpers, but it has been significantly modified."

"Modified how?"

"I am not entirely sure but I believe this may in fact be a prototype for a more advanced version of the Puddle Jumpers."

"So the Yanarin planet may have some sort of ancient research lab," Carter said, mostly to herself, "You think there could be more?" She asked, sounding almost excited.

"I do not know, anything is possible."

Carter smiled, reading over a bit more of the information before handing the device back to Radek, "well, when they get back from their mission, perhaps we can see about extending the parameters of our partnership."

Zelenka's smiled drooped a little, "how long before their first check-in?"

"There, um, won't be any. Michael would probably pick up on any kind of radio transmission."

"So…we won't know anything unless they come back."

Carter's eyes dropped from his face to the gate. She said resolutely, "_until _they'll come back."

SGASGASGASGA

"Okay, he beat us here by about 20 min." John announced to anyone who was listening.

"200 more meters and I'll be able to do a detailed scan of the planet," Rodney paused and after a moment the HUD blinked and appeared, "Okay, looks like I was right, he's already taken his ship into the upper atmosphere. He's going to land near the lab on the south-western continent. If we-" he was cut off by the sound of a muted explosion and is head nearly crashed against the bulkhead when the jumper jolted to one side, "What the hell was _that_?"

"We're under attack!"

"From whom?" Teyla shouted, holding on tightly to one of the consoles as the Jumper jerked to one side again.

"Vollys are coming from the planet." John responded, doing his best to avoid the surprisingly well aimed shots.

"But we're cloaked!" Rodney exclaimed, indignant.

"Doesn't seem to matter a whole lot, he's found some way to track us." John said through gritted teeth as another explosion rocked the small craft, "I've lost navigation and foreword sensors," the view screen turned red and then bright white they went burning into the atmosphere.

"Brace yourselves!"

SGASGASGASGA

"How long does it actually take to break into a wraith lab, kill a wraith hybrid, and break back out again? Like an hour, tops?" Jennifer looked up from her seat on the floor at her mentor. Carson stared unseeingly out ahead and she sighed heavily, blowing her bangs away from her forehead.

"I hate when he goes on these horrible, dangerous, 'I'll-be-fine-Jen-don't-worry-about-me' missions." She shook her head, bending back over her laptop where Michael's medical research information was displayed, "I just don't know what I'd do if one day he…"she trailed off, "Anyway. I don't need to worry about it because he'll come home," she glanced up, "Right?" then nodding to herself, "right. Of course."

She tried to read on but her mind was elsewhere and she wasn't retaining any of the information. Rolling her shoulders tiredly, she pushed her computer off her lap and stood, walking slowly until she was face to face with Carson. His face was lit with the green glow of the stasis chamber but his eyes were just as blue as she remembered.

Jen bit her lip, "I couldn't live without him, Carson," she said quietly, almost whispering, "he _has _to come home."

_TBC_


	11. No Saving Grace

**A/N:** Okay, now this chapter should really be _three _chapters because it's about _three _times as long as one of my normal updates. But, I didn't think you guys would like all the stop and go, besides, I like it how it is. However, if you guys want to leave me a little note saying how much you enjoyed the uber-longness of it, I wouldn't hate that. On the other hand, if you want to tell me how wrong I was for not breaking it up, I'm okay with that as well. And i even f you don't care one way or the other...hell, tell me that too! Flood my inbox, I swear i don't mind even a teeny bit! In fact, I kinda like it...

**Disclaimer**: Not mine, but if Ronon were running for president I'd totally vote for him.

**Chapter Eleven – No Saving Grace**

Sheppard awoke to that uncomfortable 'pins and needles' feeling which meant at some point he'd either been stunned or beamed into a wraith dart, or both. Judging by the size of his headache, it was both.

"Great, he's awake. We can go."

He blinked twice to clear his vision and looked around. The cell was crowded to say the least. Teya sat on one side of him, helping him sit up, Ronon on the othe hunched over and watching him from his seat on a bench. Rodney was propped up against the wall and Kaila, Sarii and Alin were on the bench beside Ronon.

The comment had come from Cam, who was pacing by the web-like doors of the wraith cell.

He squinted, "you're limping," he coughed to clear his hoarse voice.

Cam rolled her eyes, "I'm fine. We need to go find Jorain."

Sheppard sat up fully and took another look around. Sure enough, the eldest Yanarin was missing.

"He needs a moment, Cam." Teyla said, sounding a little irritated at the girl's cool reaction to the Colonel's obvious discomfort.

"No, you don't understand," she snapped, "We need to get to Jorain like five minutes ago, okay? If Michael knows what I think he knows, we're all completely screwed." Cam spit fire and venom with her words and the more she talked, the more fidgety she became, repeatedly reaching down to her thigh, only to find her gun and holster missing.

"What is it you think he knows?" John asked, pleased his voice sounded a little bit more normal.

Cam just sighed and turned around, shaking her head.

"Well?" John prompted, this time looking at the others of her team.

Glancing quickly at Cam's back, Sarii sat forward, "Jorain is…special. Different."

Kaila elbowed her in the ribs at the same time that Cam whirled around.

"Sarii, _shut it_."

"They need to understand, Cam." Sarii responded, stiffening with defiance under the glare of her commander.

Cam made a disgusted face but remained silent.

"You were saying?" This time it was Lorne who prompted her. Sheppard craned his neck and saw that he was sitting on the other side of Rodney, somewhat hidden by the irregular angle of the wall.

Sarii looked back at the 'Lanteans. "Jorain possess…a special ability to sense the wraith. Only a handful from our planet are able to do this, but he has it the strongest. Sometimes he's even been able to reach out and touch their minds, hear their thoughts, see what they see. It's very…"

"Horrible," Cam finished, "If Michael gets his slimy claws on him, which I remind you it seems he already has, it's like 'worst case scenario' for everyone in the galaxy."

The 'Lanteans exchanged looks, John's frown turning from pained to concerned.

"And as of right now, we have no idea what Michael might be doing to him." Sarii added quietly, glancing longingly at the doors.

"Perhaps we could."

Everyone turned to Teyla but she spoke only to John, "I could reach out to him, find out if he is alright and try to figure out where Michael is in this facility."

"So we're in the lab?"

She nodded, "I believe so."

She didn't look away and John realized she was waiting for his 'ok'. He glanced at Cam and then Sarii, who were both looking a cross between hopeful and scared shitless. He pursed his lips and nodded.

"Do it."

Teyla nodded and tension was thick in the air as everyone watched and waited. She took a deep breath, her eyes rolling back in her head as she tilted back slightly. Her body went rigid and everyone held their breath.

Moments later she gasped and lurched forward, both Ronon and John instinctively reached out to steady her. She took a few deep breaths to calm down and then looked up.

"He is alive, but in distress. And I believe Michael is nearby, he was growing more…unsettled the closer Michael's presence became."

"All the more reason to _get out of here_," Cam insisted.

"How was he able to track us?" Ronon asked suddenly. He sat elbows on his knees, staring at the floor with a frown.

"He guessed?" Sheppard suggested, rubbing his aching forehead, a bit surprised when his hand came away bloody.

"Please," Rodney scoffed, "he has a jumper, remember? And he's smart, my kind of smart. He's had months to study the cloaking device and find a way to track it even when it's engaged."

"Or he had help." Everyone turned at the underlying current of accusation in Ronon's tone. He ignored them, his green eyes locked with Cam's.

"Don't say it," she said in a dangerous whisper, "don't even think it."

"Give me one good reason not to," he shrugged.

"Helping Michael? A _wraith_?" Cam's balled fists began to shake. John could have sworn her eyes softened fo a moment with something like pain before hardening again to stone. "If you were _anyone _else I'd kill you for even suggesting it."

"Alright, that's enough," John interrupted.

"Anyone else?" Ronon ignored him, "What's stopping you?" It was a challenge as much as it was an accusation.

Cam glanced at her teammates and shrugged, putting on a superficial show of casualness, "We're allies." She answered, as if that said it all.

Ronon didn't seem convinced, feeling there was something more she wasn't saying, which seemed to be a disturbing habit all of the Yanarins shared. But he was saved from responding when Rodney deflated the argument quickly, and somewhat unintentionally.

"No, it's got to be the cloaking device thing," he shook his head, nearly oblivious to the veiled threats that had just been uttered, "I scanned for any and all types of transmitters on them before we left," he said nonchalantly.

"Rodney!" Teyla glared at him.

"What?" He asked. He looked around and saw that Alin and Cam both looked ready to explode, "What'd I say?"

Sarii just shook her head, "This how you treat all your allies?" Her dark eyes seemed disappointed when she turned them back to the door.

"_Whatever_," Cam snapped, "let's just find Jorain, kill Michael and get the hell out of here." She set her teeth and turned her back to the cell, "Can you walk _yet_, Sheppard?"

John paused, glancing at Ronon and then Cam and back again. Finally, his eyebrows nearly touching his hair, he climbed somewhat unsteadily to his feet, "I'll manage."

"Good. Kaila?" she called sharply to her teammate, but the blonde didn't seem to notice.

She jumped to her feet and sighed with relief, "finally."

Lorne and Rodney watched curiously as she walked over to the door and faced the wall on the right with the control panel outside, "Um, I need a knife."

John reached for his boot and Ronon his hair but both had hardly gotten their hands around the hilt when a six inch blade was embedded in the wall beside Kaila's head.

"Hey, watch it Cam!" Kaila exclaimed, then added with a glare at Ronon, "You just _had _to piss her off, didn't you?"

She shook her head in disgust and began cutting a slit in the wall about a foot long, muttering under her breath the entire time, "so damn emotional all the time," she pulled apart the 'skin' of the wall, "be a miracle if we don't," slowly pushed her arm deep inside, "end up blown to bits," more than one face to turn slightly green at the squishy, noise her hand moving around inside the 'organs' of the ship made, "all these _incredibly _reasonable people on the job."

McKay looked both annoyed and interested as he approached her from behind, "Um, what are you-"

"Shh," Kaila said sharply, "I almost…" She yanked on hard and suddenly the lights in their cell went out and the doors opened, "got it."

Sheppard raised an eyebrow and stepped outside, "You're gonna have to teach McKay how to do that."

"Later," Cam said, standing beside him, "Right now we need to get our guns back."

"We do not know where Michael put them." Teyla pointed out.

Alin's wave caught their attention and he took off at a fast jog down the hall, the Yanarins not even hesitating as they fell into step behind him. John and Ronon exchanged a look but, seeing no other option, they followed as well.

A few minutes, one transporter ride and three left turns later, Alin came upon a door. He glanced behind to be sure everyone was with him, pulled a knife from the small of his back and jammed it into the controls. Immediately the thick organ metallic doors slid open.

Once inside, he began distributing the weapons, which were lying in a haphazard pile on the floor.

"Okay, somebody want to explain this?" Sheppard asked, pulling on his tack vest and clipping the p-90 that was tossed at him into place.

"Alin is virtually immune to wraith stunners," Kaila answered, strapping a small projectile weapon to the inside of her ankle, "they only knock him out for a couple of seconds."

"Really? Any particular reason?" Rodney struggled momentarily with his p-90, which was tangled up in the straps of his vest.

"Nope." Cam answered quickly, "Colonel?" She raised an eyebrow, checking the charge on her energy blaster, fitting it snugly into her palm. She always felt naked without it.

"Right." John nodded, "Rodney has some sort of virus he's written to blow this lab sky high…"

"It's actually a complex series of algorithms that will systematically-"

"Yeah yeah, I'd love to hear all about it later over biscuits and iced tea, all right?" John interrupted, "Now if I remember right the main power outputs are three levels below us."

"Right." Kaila nodded.

"Okay, that's going to be heavily guarded, he's going to need some backup. Take Teyla and…"

"Alin." Teyla supplied from where she was keeping watch at the door while the others finished suiting up, "he's an expert marksman and fighter."

"Good with you?" John looked at the boy who nodded, his finger already tight to the trigger of his weapon.

"Okay and I have written an overload protocol to load into the computer on Michael's ship so that, just in case he manages to slip past you guys, we know he won't be getting far." Kaila stepped forward, pointing to herself as she spoke.

"And by overload protocol you mean…"

"_Boom_."

John's face lit up, "A scientist who solves problems with explosions," he looked at McKay, "imagine that." Rodney only rolled his eyes, "Okay and she's going to need backup as well, Lorne?"

"I'm on it."

"Take Sarii," Cam glanced back inside, she'd taken up a guard position opposite Teyla, "she's useless in a fight but she always hits what she aims at."

"Sounds good," John nodded, "and you…"

"And I'll be coming with you to find Jorain and, hopefully, blow a hole through Michael the size of Kaila's ego."

"Hey!"

John made one last check for his extra clips and pulled out his LSD, "Let's move."

SGASGASGASGA

Jorain sat in the darkened room, the only light source coming from a direct beam overhead and some rather intimidating wraith tech directly to his right. He'd left off struggling against the bonds that held him to aflat surface that felt disturbingly reminiscent to an operating table. They seemed to be made of the same organic tendril-like material that the rest of the ship was made of, and held his wrists and ankles tight to the table.

He did his best to get a bearing on his surroundings and found it pretty impossible since, aside from the light above him, the whole room was completely dark. But he didn't need light to know Michael was there, watching from the shadows.

"I know you're there," he called out, his voice swallowed up by the vastness of the room, "might as well come out."

Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead when he heard fabric shuffle surpsigingly close to his left ear, just outside his peripheral vision. The figure walked around the table until he was facing him.

"Michael," Jorain spat.

The hybrid tilted his head to one side slightly, scrutinizing the boy with narrowed yellow eyes.

"My apologies," his voice resonated and bounced in a way Jorain's voice hadn't and it made the hair on the back of his neck stand, "but I don't believe we've met."

Jorain curled his lip in disgust, "your reputation precedes you."

Michael considered this and turned, moving toward the wraith console, "I knew Sheppard and his team were getting close and expected them to come," a few readings in a language Jorain couldn't read flashed across the screen before it suddenly blinked and went out. Michael growled something in his mother tongue and then almost immediately it came back up.

He stared at the screen for a moment and then pulled a small device from the side and Jorain recoiled when he began passing it across his skin, "I knew, of course, that I would capture them and would have been satisfied with taking back Teyla," he seemed content to babble on and Jorain listened intently, just in case he divulged something he hadn't necessarily meant to.

"But when I sensed your presence," he pulled the device away and looked at Jorain's face again, "well, I just had to see for myself."

With that he turned away and loaded whatever readings he'd taken into his console. Jorain sighed, chewing his lip as he frantically thought of what to do next. A thought suddenly occurred to him and he fought back a wave of panic.

"Where are the others? What have you done to them?" He demanded, craning his neck as far as he could, as if he thought the darkness surrounding the table would reveal more to him now than it had before.

Michael glanced at him over his shoulder, "Nothing at all," he turned back when the console beeped cheerily, "and it seems I won't have to."

When he turned back around Michael wore the face of one who'd finally captured his illusive unicorn. He smiled, and Jorain thought momentarily that the sight of the it might make him sick all over himself.

Michael walked forward and lifted his hand, gently running it down along his cheek, "It can't be," he said in whatever passed for a wraith's whisper.

Jorain forced himself to meet Michael's appraising stare head-on and chills gripped his spine when the look on his face changed from amazed to suspicious.

"I must be sure," in one swift motion Michael retrieved something from a tray that was outside Jorain's line of sight and when he brought it back, Jorain's breath caught. He thought he'd seen some pretty twisted things in his time, but the needle Michael held had to top the list.

A strange combination of wraith tendrils and earth syringes of varying lengths and sizes, it was a terrifying tool. He wanted to ask what it was for, but couldn't quite bring himself to do so.

Almost as if he'd sensed the boy's question, Michael said, "I want to substantiate these results before we proceed. I'm going to be taking a sample of your blood, muscle tissue and bone marrow."

"All at once?" Jorain couldn't help but ask, glancing nervously between the syringe and the hybrid's face.

Michael tilted his head and approached the table steadily, even as Jorain once again began to thrash against the bindings.

"It will only hurt for a moment."

Michael was pure concentration as he haphazardly cut away the sleeve on one of Jorain's sleeves and prepared to put in the needle. Jorain was seconds away from screaming when the sound of p90 fire and the unmistakable blast of Ronon's gun echoed somewhere nearby.

Seconds later footsteps could be heard in what seemed like every direction and Jorain wondered if the entire team had come to find him, although that seemed highly likely.

"You know, you got a real Frankenstein streak happening here, Mike."

Jorain zeroed in on Sheppard's voice coming from his left, no doubt with a clear shot at the hybrid. Michael made a move toward the console and John stepped closer, suddenly illuminated by the light over the table.

"Don't do it."

Michael looked up, "Major Sheppard, it's good to see you again."

"Wish I could say the same about you, old pal," John responded humorlessly, "and that's Lt. Colonel Sheppard by the way."

Michael barred his teeth in something of a scowl, "What will you do to me? Stun me? Take me back to Atlantis so that you may try _again_ to turn me into something I am not?"

"I was thinking we just kill you." Ronon's voice rumbled and he too stepped into the light. Jorain tried to look around but, same as before, couldn't see anything. Yet he was sure there must be someone else in the room.

_Cam_. Before he got the chance to be sure the console behind Michael began to flicker again and exploded in a shimmer of sparks, seconds later the light overhead went out, leaving the room drenched in inky darkness.

For five full seconds no one breathed. Then, just as suddenly, the light came back on, only instead of just one, the whole room was illuminated. Michael was gone.

Sheppard still gripped his p90 tightly and cursed.

"_Rodney_!" He yelled in frustration, taking off after Ronon who went in the direction he assumed the wraith to have gone, spotting an exit on the other side of the room that no one would have known was there if not for the sudden flood of light.

Jorain tried to get up and go with them, momentarily forgetting he was bound to the table. In seconds Cam was at his side.

"Are you alright?" She eyed the needled that had been dropped on the floor wearily.

Jorain nodded, "I am fine," both heir heads whipped up at the sound of more p90 fire "go!" He grabbed the knife she slipped him and began working on his bindings, "I will join you when I am free," He assured her when she hesitated, "I promise I will be fine Cam. _Go help them!_"

That was all the prompting she needed. She turned and ran after the others, throwing over her shoulder, "I'll be back," before disappearing through the doorway after Ronon and Col. Sheppard.

The labyrinth of dark, dimly lit hallways didn't have the inexplicable mist floating on the floors that the wraith ships had, but what it lacked in fogginess it made up for with randomly sparking and exploding terminals.

"That must be one hell of a virus McKay made," Ronon grumbled as a tendril over his head sparked and fell free.

"No kidding," John said, using the light on his p90 to illuminate the choices of halls before them.

Cam came up beside them and stared at the three equally dark hallways ahead. She glanced to her left, but John made no indication as to which way he thought Michael had gone.

She gritted her teeth and raised her blaster, stepping forward to a run down the center hall.

John started to tell her to wait and then stopped. It wasn't as if he had any better ideas, he just usually preferred to be on point. Pursing his lips, he followed down the hall, Ronon covering their six.

They'd already lost Cam and Sheppard was going to tell her to slow down when they turned a blind corner and ran into four hybrids, all armed to the teeth. John didn't hesitate to fire and Ronon was at his elbow, the tell-tale whine of his blaster being switched from 'stun' to 'kill' preceded the first red blasts by milliseconds. They made quick work of their roadblocks and were about to continue forward when another blast drew sparks on Ronon's left. Three more hybrids had snuck up on them from behind and Ronon and John were forced to take up defensive positions, allowing Cam to put more distance between them. Without remorse for the twisted lives lost, they fired countless rounds and red energy bursts into the darkness until the last flash of blue lightning had flown. Then they stood and continued on their way, John reloading as he ran.

To their dismay, a hundred meters later they came upon another fork in the path, and had no indication as to which way to go. Sheppard was about to suggest splitting up when the familiar sound of a cannon-like blaster echoed to their right and both men took off at a run.

Before they got to her they could hear the sounds of Cam's grunts as her weapon was knocked away from her and she engaged in what sounded like a rather intense hand-to-hand battle.

Seconds later they rounded on Cam's position and their eyes widened with surprise. Not so much at the unconscious/dead hybrids at Cam's feet, but the sight of Cam with a jagged knife to her neck, and the fact that it was Michael's hand holding it.

"You and your team, _Colonel _Sheppard, are extremely troublesome," Michael hissed, holding fast as Cam did everything she could to lash out at him, but his hold on her left her no room to fight back.

"Yeah, well, we try," Sheppard responded, not moving a muscle, lest he spook the wraith into slitting her throat.

"Cut the crap and kill him!" Cam demanded, trying again to throw her head or elbow back into the former wraith's chest, all to no avail.

"Just let me handle this Cam." Sheppad said, patiently.

"Why don't you handle it by _killing _him?" She sounded more annoyed than worried, and Ronon almost smirked, but it morphed to a scowl when Michael pressed his knife closer to her neck, effectively silencing the girl's protests.

"Alright Mikey, what do you want?"

"Safe passage off this planet."

"And why would we do that?" Ronon growled, his gun trained steadily on what little of Michael's face he could see.

"Because if you don't, I'll kill her."

John's frown deepened, "that's a little primitive for you, isn't it? I mean, aren't you into the whole 'scientific high road' thing?"

"I prefer it, yes. Call it...the _human _in me," Michael glowered, and Sheppard pursed his lips, "But I assure you, I am fully capable of killing if the need arises, as you are well aware."

Ronon's nostrils flared, "Sheppard." All he wanted was the okay, he could make the shot, he knew it.

"Just do it!" Cam squeeked, "doesn't matter what happens to me, just don't let him off-"

Michael again pressed his knife to her throat, this time drawing blood and she gritted her teeth. John dropped his gaze from his stare-down with Michael to look closely at Cam. He'd expected more than a fair share of fear, if not some anger at her current predicament, but all that showed on her face was pure defiance. Determination.

The expression was familiar. In fact, it was the spitting image of-

The light source over their heads burst in a moderately sized explosion and everyone instinctively covered their heads. Seconds later Sheppard looked up and found Cam had been thrown to the floor and Michael was gone again.

Without waiting for a word Ronon ran after him and John started to approach the girl.

"You alright I-"

"Give me my gun," she ordered, pointing at the sleek blaster lying abandoned near the wall. John hesitated and watched as she laboriously got to her feet, wincing as previously unknown wounds made themselves manifest and taking her weight off her left foot. He grabbed her gun and handed it to her with a scrutinizing look.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Cam snatched the gun without a word and turned to run after Ronon and Michael.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." John couldn't help but roll his eyes as he started after them. He'd thought he'd be able to keep up easily with Cam since she'd had a serious limp when she'd first started out, but was rather annoyed to find she was pushing him to his limit at a dead sprint. He decided she was either in really good shape, or she was really pissed. He also decided he'd let his two Marines off without the 'you got outrun by a girl' speech.

They caught sight of Ronon on a platform poking out from the outer wall of the lab, hands on his knees as he caught his breath.

"Where is he?" Cam demanded, her blaster up and ready.

Ronon jerked his chin toward the Cruiser parked about a few hundred meters away from the lab, unsightly in its grey-purple death color against the reddish-orange dirt and sky of the planet.

"How the hell did he get out there?"

Sheppard was content to let Cam ask all the questions since, at the moment, he was having trouble getting his breathing back to normal.

"Got caught by a bunch of hybrids about 60 meters back," Ronon explained breathily, "when I got out here he was already on the ship."

"You're sure?" Sheppard gasped, straightening with his hands on his hips. What he wouldn't give for a nice cool bottle of water right about now.

Ronon shrugged, "no where else for him to go."

Cam stepped forward to the edge of the platform, squinting at the cruiser as dust kicked up from underneath it, "it's preparing to disembark," she brought her wrist up to her mouth, "Kaila, did you complete your objective?"

"Radios?" Sheppard said mostly to himself. Apparently there was no response because Cam repeated, somewhat loudly,

"Kaila, respond," she paused, "_Kaila!_"

"Geez Cam, you're gonna blow my eardrums out!"

They all turned to see Kaila and Major Lorne approaching from a set of stairs that led to a platform below.

"You're here. Does that mean-"

"That I'm a genius, well as a matter of fact-"

"Kaila!" Cam snapped impatiently.

"Yes, alright? I finished. As soon as Michael tries to engage his hyperdrive we're gonna get one hell of a fireworks display."

"Are you sure Michael got on the ship?" John jumped in, breathing semi-normally and training his weapon on the cruiser even as it began to lift off the surface.

"Yes sir, saw him get on myself," Lorne responded, looking a little worse for wear. Sheppard guessed his part of the mission hadn't been exactly uneventful.

"And-"

"We got company."

Ronon's warning preceded several rounds of blue stunner rays by milliseconds. The Lantans immediately returned fire, but Cam and Lorne both went down before all the hybrids had been neutralized. Jorain appeared from inside the lab and, quickly unclipping Lorne's gun, used it to help finish off the handful still making a last stand.

"Crap." Sheppard said as he and the others pulled their comrades to a safer position behind what Sheppard assumed to be some sort of creepy wraith bench where one could sit and watch the sunset. That is, if wraith did that kind of thing.

"What?" Ronon asked, scanning their surrounding for more signs of hybrids.

"Well, now we've got half our people scattered across this compound and two unconscious bodys to drag around while we look for them.

"Hey, there you are."

They all turned and saw Rodney approaching from inside the lab, his p90 dangling uselessly from his tac vest, followed by Teyla and Alin covering the six.

"How'd you guys find us?" John asked, jumping to his feet to greet them.

Rodney held up the small, beeping device in his hand, "Life Signs Detector."

"Well, how could you tell the difference between our dots and all the hybrid dots?"

Teyla stepped forward, "we assumed you would be the dots making the rest of the dots disappear."

John considered this and then nodded, "good point."

"Okay so now what? Because I assume you've realized we have no real way of getting off this planet since our puddle jumper is destroyed and this planet has no known Stargate."

John smiled sarcastically, "well, Mr. Sunshine, you're here, at least we've got that going for us."

Rodney nodded seriously, "there is that."

"Where is Sarii," Jorain asked suddenly. He held Cam's unconscious form against him protectively while scanning their small group for any sign of his sister.

"We had to split up," Kaila answered, glancing at Lorne, "she said she had a plan."

"And what,you _left _her?"

Teyla raised her eyebrow at the first sign of Jorain's tightly reigned control slipping.

"She can handle herself, okay? You underestimate her, Jorain."

Jorain looked fit to be tied, "So…_you left her._"

"What about the Puddle Jumper Michael took?" McKay asked. Everyone looked at him, confused at the sudden change in topic, "What?" He asked, oblivious to the concern for a missing teammate, "I mean, how do we know he didn't get away on that?"

"Rodney, one of our people is missing could you..." John was cut off when a large, dark object appeared directly above them.

"You mean _this _puddle jumper?" They all looked up and Sarii waved at them cheerily through the viewer.

John grinned and shook his head in amazement. The Yanarins were just full of surprises.

"Think you can land her here?" He asked, indicating the platform where they stood.

Sarii's face brightened and then dipped in a confident smirk, "that depends…think you all could step back so I don't squish you like bugs?"

John raised an eyebrow and then bowed teasingly, "yes ma'am."

After a few minutes Sarii had landed the jumper and the teams had loaded their unconscious members on board.

John took the pilot's chair and closed the back hatch, slowly lifting off as Lorne and Cam were strapped to the cargo-hold benches.

"Think Michael noticed my booby trap before he tried to engage hyper drive?" Kaila asked, plopping herself down I the co-pilot's chair and straining to see through the viewer.

John glanced over at her just as a bright flash followed by the sound of an explosion and several smaller ones echoed in their ears. He immediately brought up the HUD, just in time to see a red dot breaking the planets atmosphere blink three times and disappear.

"I guess that answers you're question."

Kaila nodded. Smiling, she turned to look at her comrades. Jorain, Sarii and Alin all wore matching grins,"I guess it does."

Rodney looked around at the young, smiling aliens, "why do you all look like the cat who ate the canary?"

Everyone, including Ronon and Teyla, gave him a strange look. Sheppard just smiled and shook his head, plotting a course for the nearest Stargate.

"You're age is showing, Rodney."

The scientist rolled his eyes, "shut up."

_TBC_


	12. It's All Relative

**A/N:** Hm. Don't think I've mentioned this before, but I'm sure you've noticed. This fic is unbeta'ed. If the glaring spelling and weird missing word errors didn't tip you off in the last chap...you're just not trying hard enough. Jeez, it looked like I typed it with my eyes closed! I'm SO sorry you all had to suffer through that. I tried really hard to get them all with this chap, so hopefully it reads better. Again, my bad.

**Disclaimer**: Still not mine. I do, however, own spellcheck, not that you could tell...

**Chapter Twelve – It's All Relative  
**

Cam's head felt like it was foggy, filled with cotton. She hated that.

She turned her head and her hair rubbed against the skin on her neck. She hated that too. The air smelled sterile, the sheets were itchy and rough and there was an annoying beeping sound nearby that was bringing to light a rather insistent headache.

_The infirmary?_ She opened her eyes and the sight of doctors and privacy cutains confirmed it. Her body immediately tensed.

"There she is," a voice said behind her, "hey, Ace, we were beginning to worry about you."

Cam slowly turned over to her other side and saw her teammates staring at her. Kaila and Sarii sat on one bed side by side looking uninjured for the most part. In the chair beside her bed, between her and the girls, was her brother. Alin sported a butterfly bandage over his left eye and a few scrapes on his arms, but was otherwise unharmed.

_You okay?_ She signed, trying to sit up in the bed, more than annoyed to find she was in scrubs. She caught her breath at the sudden shooting pain in her ribs.

_I'm fine. You, on the other hand, have bruised ribs_. He answered, _you also sprained your ankle._

She followed his gaze down her leg. Sure enough, her right ankle was wrapped tightly in bandages and elevated.

"I can't believe you were running around on that," Sarii said, shaking her head, "you're _so _over the top with the 'tough' routine."

Cam ignored her friend's teasing and looked past them at the bed on the other side. Jorain sat cross-legged on it watching the doctors tend to SGA1 on the other side of the room.

Frowning a little in pain, she sat up fully and started to swing her legs over the edge of her bed. Sarii made a pained face, Alin stood up to stop her and Kaila rolled her eyes. When she stood she took her weight completely off her right foot and started to limp around the bed, shrugging off Alin's hands as he tried to pull her back.

"Hey."

Kaila held out a pair of crutches, "don't be an idiot."

Cam smiled and took one, "what, no 'too late'?"

Kaila shrugged, "I'm in a good mood. Don't get used to it."

Cam smiled and continued her trek to the other bed. She was surprised Jorain hadn't noticed her approaching, a broken ankle and bruised ribs didn't really lend itself to stealthiness.

"Sheppard had a blow to the head, probably from the crash and Teyla got some pretty intense bruising. Ronon needed 34 stitches from a knife wound, Rodney's mostly okay although he wouldn't say that. Lorne had two broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder," he didn't look at her as he spoke, watching as the veteran team mingled around one another's beds or sat in chairs, laughing at inside jokes and at one another's expense.

Cam tilted her head and smiled gently, "you're staring."

Jorain looked at her for the first time and rolled his eyes at himself, "I know."

Cam nodded. She looked at the floor and bit her lip nervously, flashes of memories from their mission playing in her mind.

"Cam?"

She looked up, "what?"

"Should you really be walking on that?" he asked, pointing to her wrapped foot.

She didn't answer right away. He looked back up and she was watching him closely, he returned her gaze evenly. She brought her free hand up and cupped it around the back of his neck, gently caressing the golden locks that fell at the base.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly.

He tilted his head against her palm and brought one hand up to her cheek. In the back of his mind he was aware that their teammates had grown quiet, but he didn't really notice. All he saw was the raw emotion she'd been keeping locked away for so many years washing across her eyes and flushing her face.

"I'm fine."

"Promise?"

He smiled, nodding, "promise."

"Cam, what are you doing up?"

The girl closed her eyes and locked her jaw at the sound of Dr. Keller's authoritative voice.

"I really must insist that you get back on the bed, you need rest."

"I'm fine."

"No, actually your okay. Fine would be uninjured and ready to be discharged."

Cam turned around, frowning deeply, "Look, I appreciate your concern and all, but there's no way in hell I'm staying here. You want me to rest, fine, I'll rest. But I'm not doing it here." Then she turned and began hobbling out of the infirmary, scrubs, one crutch and all.

"But-"

"It really is best if you just leave her," Jorain said, standing. Jennifer turned and looked at him, looking less than pleased, "I assure you she will rest. As will we all." He glanced at his other teammates who were standing and looking like they itched to leave the infirmary as much as Cam had.

"Well, I guess I can't make you stay," Jennifer said, sounding begrudging of the fact. Jorain was polite enough not to confirm it.

Alin stepped forward, smiling. He made a few gestures, which Sarii translated.

"It's nothing personal. In fact, we like you."

Jennifer smiled at this and finally shook her head, as if defeated. She retrieved a couple small vials of pills and handed them to Jorain, "pain meds, she'll need them."

Jorain nodded and, after thanking her and gathering Cam's things, they left the infirmary.

SGASGASGASGA

Teyla watched Keller interacting with the leftover Yanarins from her seat at the foot of Ronon's bed, Cam had already gone looking to be in something of a hurry. Jennifer gave the Commander some script bottles and then let them all leave.

Rodney was beside Teyla in a chair, simultaneously reading a tablet someone had given him and complaining about needing more 'voodoo' care. She hit him lightly on the shoulder and told him to 'be nice'. Ronon chuckled lowly at the scientists' scowl, which Teyla had expected, but John didn't say anything. In fact, he didn't seem to notice that any of them were even around. He sat in a chair between Lorne and Ronon's beds biting his lip, the major was still unconscious from a combination of the wraith stunner and Keller's 'good' drugs.

"John?"

He didn't answer.

"John?" She looked at Ronon when he again made no sign of hearing them.

Ronon quirked an eyebrow and picked up her discarded uniform jacket, balling it up, he threw it at his CO. "Sheppard!"

John looked up finally, a little surprised to see his teammates all staring at him.

"John, is everything alright?" She asked, smiling when he glared at Ronon. He looked back over at her and she tilted her head, emphasizing her question.

John glanced around again, clearing his throat as if embarrassed, "I was just thinking."

"That much was obvious." Rodney muttered.

Teyla rolled her eyes and looked at John, "About what?"

He hesitated again, "About the Yanarins. There's been something…just something about them from the beginning, but, at the time it didn't seem important."

"And now?"

"When we were in the lab and Michael had Cam by the throat, I looked at her," he glanced up and saw that Teyla was still watching him with interest, so he continued, "It was just that, for a split second, I could've sworn I was looking at Ronon." He stopped and glanced at the Satedan, who was watching him intently but made no other reaction. Finally John broke the stare and sat forward, rubbing his face and then his hair.

"Sorry, I know it sounds crazy. I'm probably just tired."

Teyla looked at him seriously. Rodney had stopped whatever he was doing on his tablet and was looking at John and Ronon in turn as if trying to come up with something to say.

Teyla shook her head, "No, actually, it does not sound as 'crazy' as you might think." John looked up almost hopefully, "When we were in the cell and I reached out with my mind to find out where Jorain was, the mind I felt was…familiar. I thought at the time it was just because of sensing wraith DNA in another human host, but I believe it was more than that."

John nodded, as if he understood what she was having trouble saying and they both looked at Ronon, who was shifting in his seat, usually a sure sign he was gathering his thought in order to speak.

"I saw Alin flip off his sister when they were sparring."

"You mean like-" Rodney began, then raised his eyebrows when Ronon put up his middle finger to illustrate.

"It's not a Pegasus thing."

"Maybe he saw one of the marine's do it," John suggested, though he sounded less than convinced himself.

"I don't think so. She knew what it meant. She was pissed about it," Ronon creased his brow, running his fingers along the stitches that graced his right shoulder, "Then later, I heard the girl, Sarii, she was singing that lullaby you sing to Torren." He looked at Teyla and she gave him a perplexed frown.

"It is an Athosian lullaby. I was not aware of it's use on other worlds." Ronon started to shrug and then thought better of it when it agravated his stitches.

"Ahem," Keller stepped up beside them, Lorne's chart under one arm, "I was standing over there and couldn't help but overhear what you were discussing."

Teyla smiled politely, "you have had some interesting dealings with our visitors as well, I take it."

"Well, I'm not sure if it's really noteworthy at all but," she sighed, stepping closer so that she was leaning her hip against Lorne's bed, "see Cam came here to get stitches in her cheek the other day after sparring," John threw a glare at Ronon but Jennifer didn't notice, "and the whole thing was just…sort of strange."

"Strange how, Doc?"

"I usually have to explain medical procedures to off-world visitors, like 'stitches are like when you sew together a pair of pants that's been torn, only it's on your skin' sort of thing. But Cam was completely familiar with the procedure, she knew what stitches were. She had had them before."

"The Yanarins obviously come from a technologically advanced society, perhaps they had a good doctor," Teyla said.

"That's just it. She said her doctor was 'kick-ass'. Correct me if I'm wrong but…don't Pegusus natives have their own swear words?" She asked, looking to Ronon for confirmation. He nodded, as did Teyla.

Sheppard was chewing his lip now, no longer looking embarrassed over a strange feeling of déjà vu. After a mnute everyone turned to Rodney. And it took another two minutes after that before Rodney realized they were looking at him.

"What?" He looked around at his teammates, "I haven't noticed anything."

"Really?" Ronon asked.

"Rodney you're the one who was suspicious of these guys in the first place. You have nothing to add?" Sheppard said, sounding both incredulous and annoyed.

"Well I-I mean not really. No," Teyla raised one eyebrow and Jennifer raised both, "what? Okay, aside from a better than average knowledge of astrophysics from the smart one and a shorter than average temper from the angry one…no. Nothing."

Ronon sighed and John shook his head.

"I don't know. I still don't like it."

"You think there's something they're not saying?" Jennifer asked, pushing Lorne's chart into the box at the foot of his bed.

"I know there's something they're not saying, but I think it might be time we find out what it is." John said, getting up, Teyla and Rodney following suite and Ronon began searching for his boots.

"That is, if _I_ give you the ok to leave." Jennifer smiled and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Oh. Right. Doc, do you think we could…"

"Don't worry about it Col. you're all clear to go as long as you stick to the prescriptions I gave you, which includes _rest_." Jennifer said, granting him permission with a wave, "but, I'm coming with you."

John started to say something, and then stopped. "Fine with me."

They all started for the doors when Teyla spoke up, "should I contact Col. Carter?"

John hesitated, "No, we won't say anything to Carter just yet. I get the feeling we're going to need to keep this between us."

Teyla merely nodded and the team waited while Jennifer gave her on-call a quick update on Lorne and another Marine who was in the ICU. She joined them and they all filed out.

SGASGASGASGA

Jorain left Cam to sleep in his bed, where they'd found her when they finally caught up to her in their quarters. She'd looked exhausted and he was worried being in Michael's lab had been harder on her than she let on.

She was too damn strong for her own good sometimes.

_He called me a wraith worshipper._

She'd been half asleep and a little bit groggy with painkillers when she'd mumbled those words as he covered her up, but he'd heard the bitterness in her voice clearly. The others had told him what had happened in the cell, but he had a suspicion Cam was more hurt than angry by Ronon's accusation. But Jorain seriously doubted Cam knew how to be anything other than angry anymore.

He found the rest of his team in the common area of their quarters and they all looked up anxiously when he came in. He nodded and they relaxed. Kaila went back to bending over her laptop, typing furiously from her seat on the floor against the wall where she sat cross-legged, headphones in her ears.

Nearest to where Jorain stood Alin and Sarii sat next to one another on the sofa. Jorain watched as he put his hand into that of his sister, signing slowly. Seconds later their hands would switch position and Sarii would respond to what he said. Her soft giggle made him smile and he said nothing when she leaned up and kissed him chastely on the lips.

Jorain walked toward a small dresser near the opposite wall and began extracting his clothes and stuffing them into his black fabric bag. He felt eyes on his back but didn't pause his movements.

"As soon as Cam is feeling up to it, we leave."

He hoped the sadness he felt at that statement didn't show in his voice and he didn't turn around to see it reflected in the other's faces. He knew their pain. It hadn't been easy on any of them being among the 'Lanteans. Pretending. And now that it was all over they didn't even know if the mission had truly been effective. Yes, they'd killed Michael, but would it be enough?

The sound of the door chime made him look up and, after glancing questioningly over his shoulder, he went over and waved his hand in front of the controls.

He sucked in a breath of air at who he saw on the other side. John Sheppard looked angry, and Teyla who stood beside him looked a little bit hurt and a lot confused. Ronon looked his usual stoic self, Jennifer looked uncomfortable and even Rodney was glaring slightly.

Jorain sighed, just what he needed. Five pissed off adults. He rubbed a hand over his face and then stepped aside, allowing the team to enter.

Teyla was the first to speak, "Jorain, we want the truth."

"Now." John added forcefully.

Jorain hesitated, a thousand excuses he could use to smooth-talk his way out of what was likely to be the biggest mistake of his short life ran through his mind. There was just one problem with all of them, they were lies. And he was just was so tired of lying. He took a deep breath and made an executive decision.

He glanced over his shoulder at Alin, sending a silent message to the boy, who got up and left to retrieve his sister.

"Would you like to sit?" Jorain asked, politely gesturing to the various seats scattered around the room, not really expecting them to do so.

"We'll stand," Ronon growled, somehow still managing to look intimidating with his arm in a sling.

Jorain's eyes fell to Teyla, feeling her penetrating gaze as it burned his skin. A look of recognition in her eyes sent shivers down his spine.

"It can't be," she whispered, narrowing her eyes to look at him closer.

"What?" Rodney stepped up beside her, his eyes darting around the room, "what can't be?"

Neither Teyla nor Jorain had to answer, as Cam suddenly emerged from the back room, limping severely but pushing away her brother's helping hands.

She sighed when she saw the 'Lanteans and leaned against the wall, "So, I guess the jig is up."

John stepped forward, "Yeah, we know you guys have been lying to us and I don't like knowing I put my life and the lives of my team on the line without having all the information."

"We wouldn't have let anything happen to you." Liz insisted quietly, now seated with her legs pulled up to her chest.

"Oh really? And why should we believe that?" Rodney snarked.

Teyla, who'd been silently moving to stand closer to Jorain, now nearly touching him as they stood in front of one another, reached up and laid her hand lightly against his cheek.

"Torren." She breathed.

Every 'Lantean in the room whipped their head toward her and every Yanarin held their breath for his answer.

Jorain's shoulders slumped as if a great burden had been lifted from them and he bent his head foreword until it touched Teyla's.

"Mother."

_TBC_


	13. If I Die Before I Wake

**A/N:** Okay, SO glad I managed to surprise some people with the little revelation last chap. Lol. That was fun. And thanks for all those awesome reviews! Those were even MORE fun!! Okay, so this chap is dedicated to **tripwatcher2**, cuz all she's wanted from the beginning are 'answers, answers, answers' and now she's _finally_ getting some.

**Disclaimer**: Nope, not mine. But if Ronon's for sale I'm totally in the market. Or John. Lorne?...please??

**Chapter Thirteen – If I Die Before I Wake**

"Wait, what?" Rodney couldn't decide whether to be shocked or sarcastic, "_what_?"

Kaila stood and stepped forward, "I know it's hard to believe, but it's true." She took a deep breath, hesitated and then closed her eyes, "We're from the future, the Tepe is a time machine."

Rodney's jaw fell open and then closed and opened again, as if he couldn't decide which argument he wanted to state first.

"The intel on Michael," Jennifer muttered, her arms were crossed tightly over her chest as she stared with wide eyes at the group of young people.

"Don't tell me you actually believe this," Rodney said, looking at Jennifer with a slightly disappointed expression.

"It's happened before," Teyla said, stepping back from the adult version of her son, but taking a few moments before finally breaking eye contact, "Our first year on Atlantis, you found Dr. Weir in the stasis chamber. She'd traveled through time."

"Ah, yes, but that _particular _time-ship had been built by the ancients, and they destroyed it, remember?"

"You always liked to say there was nothing the 'ancients could do that you couldn't do better'." Kaila said with a wistful smile, the likes of which none of the team had seen on her before. McKay's jaw snapped shut, that certainly _sounded _like him.

Alin stepped further into the room and made a few signs.

"The intel on Michael is actually information you four gathered, but far in the future when it was outdated and useless. But in _this _time it gave you the advantage you needed."

"So not everything you told us was a lie," Ronon said, sounding unimpressed.

"No, it wasn't," this time it was Cam who answered, her eyes as sharp as her words, "and we hated every second we had to spend lying to you, but it had to be done."

"So…who are you. Really?" John asked, eyeing Torren wearily.

The Yanarin's exchanged nervous glances but finally Cam just shrugged.

"Teyla's already figured it out, we might as well go for broke," stepping away from the wall, she came to stand beside her brother, "My name is Camaiya Anne Dex. My brother is Benjamin Katrai Dex. We are children of Specialist Ronon Dex and Dr. Jennifer Keller."

Ronon stiffened and Jennifer's mouth dropped. Her face went a little bit pale and she quickly sat in a large chair nearby. "How is this possible?" she whispered mostly to herself, "Benjamin…Anne, those are my parent's names."

Ronon nodded in agreement, "It's a common practice on Sateda," he said, tilting his head as he evaluated the two young people as if seeing them for the first time, "naming children after their grandparents."

"That's why we had to use aliases," Kaila said, "or else you would have figured it out much sooner, and all of this would have been for nothing." She looked straight at McKay, who looked a little bit afraid of what she was about to say next, "My real name's Meredith McKay. My mom loved your first name." She smiled almost shyly and looked away.

Rodeny began scanning the room, as if looking for a clue in the memories he'd yet to make, "Katie?" He guessed.

Kaila – Meredith – frowned, "You and Aunt Katie?" she wrinkled her nose, "why didn't I know that?"

"So, not Katie?"

The girl smiled fully, "No. My mother was a doctor, like Jennifer," she glanced up, "but I don't think you've met her yet. Katie married Uncle Evan. They're my god-parents."

McKay nodded slowly and Sheppard nudged him over to the table to sit in one of the chairs there.

"And you?" Teyla approached Sarii slowly and sat down, perching herself precariously on the edge of the sofa. She kept her distance to keep from spooking either herself or the girl, she wasn't sure which.

Sarii didn't answer right away, instead her name came from across the room, where John was watching the two closely.

"Elizabeth." When he said it the girl's dark eyes locked with his and she nodded.

"You're my father," she looked at Teyla, "you're my mother."

Teyla's eyes widened and she turned to look at John. The resemblance between the two was unmistakable. How was it she hadn't seen it before?

Ever cautious, Ronon still had one more question.

"I thought you said your planet was named Yanaris and that it was destroyed."

"We are."

"And it was."

Torren stepped up to explain, "Yanaris is what we, you, named this plane. And we _are _the last."

Before anyone could address this Rodney, who had regained his composure and was back to thinking in overdrive, suddenly stood up.

"Are you all _insane_? Do you have any idea how dangerous time travel is?" He said, severely, "You've not only jeopardized your own existences but our _futures _as well. Who knows how much the timeline has deviated just by you _being _here!"

"Liz, Ben and Meredith are certifiable geniuses, Rodney. I assure you we are well aware of the risks," Torren said defensively.

"Then what the _hell _do you think you're doing?"

"Rodney calm down." Sheppard tried.

"You don't get it do you?" Cam snapped, pointing a finger at the irate scientist, "the world, the time, we come from you're all dead. Atlantis is gone, evacuated. We're all that's left!"

Rodney frowned, "that's impossible. Why would we leave Atlantis?"

"Didn't really have any other choice, dad," Meredith said the last part without thinking and quickly looked away. The weight in her words made the hair on the back of Sheppard's neck stand on end and he tensed slightly.

"I think you guys should tell us what's going on, and the beginning is usually a good place to start."

SGASGASGASGA

_"Hey."_

_Cam didn't turn, she recognized Torren's low, smooth voice. It sort of reminded her of how her father's voice had sounded._

_"I just heard," he continued, moving up to stand beside her and look out at the ocean he knew she wasn't seeing._

_She nodded, "She's not alone is she?"_

_"No," Torren answered, his ears perking to the slight waver in her voice, "Ben's with her."_

_Again, she nodded, then swiped a hand across her eyes before turning to face him._

_"It should have been me," she said resolutely._

_"What?"_

_"On that wraith ship. They wanted me, but Dad wouldn't let me go. They killed him and those two Marines for it."_

_Torren pursed his lips and reached for her shoulder, frowning at the way she flinched at his touch, "it wasn't your fault. You know that. It would have killed your dad if anything had happened to you."_

_"Yeah, and now it's killing her that he's not here," she snapped. She stepped back from his hand and crossed her arms, looking away. Torren waited. "It's just not fair, you know? I mean, your dad went to the future, he saw how things turned out. Mom died from cancer caused by exposure to the Hoffan drug. So we knew. We changed so that wouldn't happen. And then none of it matters? She ends up getting this stupid virus that's going to kill her _anyway_?"_

_Cam sounded angry, and while Torren was sure she was, he knew she was also scared._

_"She'll be okay, little warrior," he tried, pulling her into a hug. It was all he could say, but somehow he was sure she didn't believe him._

SGASGASGASGASGA

"I was eighteen when Mom died, three years earlier Dad had been killed by the wraith, he and two Marines." Cam pursed her lips and frowned at the floor, "They fed on them all right in front of me. I would have been next, but John and the Apollo beamed me out." She sighed and slumped into a chair, "And that was just the beginning."

"A year later Michael attacked Atlantis." Meredith had gone back to her spot on the floor and pulled her laptop up onto her legs, though it remained unopened. She just felt more secure when it was nearby.

John stood near the middle of the room, hands on his hips as he paced, processing all that was being said, "how did he get here undetected?"

"The puddle jumper." Rodney guessed, his face back to a normal pallor.

Meredith nodded, "he had over twenty years to study the cloaking device, he found a way to adapt it to wraith tech." She shrugged one shoulder and picked at a sticker on the front of her pc.

"He and the hybrids infiltrated the city and tried to take over," Torren picked up where Cam had left off, "I had been off-world and was unable to return when they enacted a lockout on the gate, so he took Mom and tried to get her to tell him where I was, but she refused...He ended up killing her when he tried to run his experiments on her instead of me." The young man had been slowly gravitating back toward the sofa where Cam sat and now stood beside it, leaning on the side with his arms crossed, "Rodney and Dad came up with a plan to draw him away from the city, and it worked. He left. But he took them with him."

SGASGASGASGASGA

_"Well you're going to get them back? Right?" Torren never let his control slip, had been taught it was bad manners. But right now he was sacred and angry and out of his mind with grief. And right now he was screaming at General Megan Scott, IOA representative and current leader of Atlantis._

_"We don't even know where they _are_, Mr. Emmagen. We've been sending out search and rescue teams for weeks," she took a deep breath and tucked a piece of non-existent unruly grey hair behind her ear, "and the IOA has decided, after Michael's near takeover, that Atlantis now poses more of a risk to earth than a protection."_

_"So we're going to give up? Just like that?" His voice was disbelieving and accusatory as he leaned menacingly on the desk._

_The General didn't flinch and made no effort to defend herself or her decision. Her voice was low and sad but firm when she responded, "Gather your things Torren, we're going home."_

_The boy held her gaze for several long moments before straitening suddenly. He forced his jaw to relax and a neutral cast fell across his face, "I _am _home."_

_He then turned and left, not much caring whether or not he was 'dismissed'._

_He got to The Study room where Meredith, Liz, Ben and Cam were waiting._

_"Well?" Meredith asked impatiently, stepping forward._

_Torren remained silent and waved them out onto the balcony to avoid being overheard by anyone who came into the room._

_"They're evacuating Atlantis," he said, his voice back under control._

_"Like the Ancient's did," Liz whispered, looking like someone had just punched her in the gut._

_"But what about Dad and John," Meredith nearly exploded, "they could still be alive!"_

_Torren nodded, "that's why we're going after them."_

SGASGASGASGASGA

"You mounted a rescue? On your own?" John sounded angry, but everyone recognized it as thinly veiled concern.

Cam nodded, "But by the time we found you…it was too late."

"You were being kept in the same place you found Uncle Carson." Liz added.

"My idea." Meredith lifted a finger and pointed to herself.

"What do you mean it was 'too late'?" Jennifer asked, frowning. It reminded Ben of how she looked when someone came to the city with a sickness that was 'like ones we've dealt with before, but different' and she was having trouble coming up with a cure.

Cam looked away and all the kids tensed up.

SGASGASGASGASGA

_"Hybrids!" Cam yelled, her voice as close to frightened as Torren had ever heard, but he didn't stop moving forward. He was on point, Cam on the six, Meredith and Ben in-between. Liz had stayed with the jumper, they weren't about to let Michael get another one of those._

_Hoising his p140 he fired of several dozen rounds into approaching wraith hybrids. Momentarily deaf by the sound of his, Meredith and Ben's guns, as well as Cam's blaster, he relied on his vision as he led the way around a corner and down the hallway._

_"Torren, they know we're here, there's too many. We need to leave _now_!" Cam screamed from the back of the group before laying out five hybrids who jumped from air vents above them._

_"I'm not leaving without them!"_

_He turned another corner and started to pull the trigger on two more hybrids, but stopped at the last second._

_"Oh my god."_

_Seconds later the rest of the team were standing beside him._

_"Dad!" "Oh my god." "John, Rodney!"_

_The two men stared at the intruders blankly, their weapons raised and steady._

_"Dad, please, come with use, we can make you better," Meredith begged._

_Torren stepped forward, using his body as a shield for the others when thee hybrid's weapons did not waver._

_"Please Dad, Rodney, Liz is waiting with the ship. Please, come with us." He thought his entreaty was falling on deaf ears, it didn't appear that either man knew him. But suddenly Rodney's gun faltered, and there was a flicker of recognition in his father's eyes. An unmistakable plea that broke him. And then it was gone, and both guns trained on Torren's face.  
_

_The world slowed. Sound blurred and took hold of him. Torren briefly closed his eyes. The sound of Cam's blaster as she fired at something behind them and of Mere's LSD beeping more persistently by the moment telling them they were surrounded. The sound of the shells from Ben's p140 hitting the ground as he tried to prevent them from being captured as well. The sound of wraith stunners, Cam's curses, the pounding in his brain. He opened his eyes, he knew what he had to do._

_Torren raised his weapon and screamed with fury and grief as he fired._

_The abominations that used to be John and Rodney fell to the ground, riddled with bullet holes and Torren ordered his team to retreat toward the dart bay, refusing to look back as he ran away fro the biggest regret he'd probably ever have._

SGASGASGASGASGA

The whole room was silent. Cam stared up at Torren where he sat beside her on the arm of the chair. He fingered his father's dog tags and refused to look at her.

They'd never spoken of that day, not even once in all the greif-stricken days that had followed. She'd always known he'd lost a piece of himself on that planet, but she'd never truly understood how large.

She reached up and gently turned his face toward hers and waited until he opened his eyes to look at her.

The sorrow in his eyes made her breath catch and her eyes burned with the want to shed tears. Torren, who'd been expecting judgment, even hatred, was astonished to see only sympathy in hers. Understanding that made it hard to breathe.

He was further surprised to hear John's words from across the room.

"You did good." His voice was a little rough and dry, but the words carried all the same. Torren looked surprised.

"Good? What, was I the only one listening to the story?_ He killed us_!" Rodney exclaimed. Torren winced and Cam's glare shot daggers.

"You would have rather spent the rest of your life serving Michael?" John snapped, clearly irritated at McKay's continued inability to censor himself.

"But-"

"I don't like it any better than you do, but given the alternative I think he made the right choice."

McKay seemed to consider this and then sat back in his chair, "I guess...but I still don't like it."

_TBC_


	14. A Great Hope

**A/N:** Okay, SO glad I managed to surprise some people with the little revelation last chap. Lol. That was fun. And thanks for all those awesome reviews! Those were even MORE fun!! Okay, so this chap is dedicated to **tripwatcher2**, cuz all she's wanted from the beginning are 'answers, answers, answers' and now she's _finally_ getting some.

**Disclaimer**: I wished upon a star...nothing happened.

**Chapter Fourteen – A Great Hope**

The room fell silent, allowing the tension and shock to dissipate slightly before the explanation continued. Cam tugged on Torren's arm and he slid down beside her on the couch. Teyla had vacated her seat on the couch and Ben had taken it, scooting in close to Liz. John stood near the door with his hands in his pockets as he chewed his bottom lip mercilessly.

"Then what happened?" Ronon asked, he opposite McKay at the table, sitting backwards on one of the chairs.

It was Meredith who answered standing and walking to look out a small window at the back of the room to get some circulation going in her legs, "When we got back to Atlantis the IOA had already evacuated most of the population."

"They left you behind?" Teyla sounded a bit dangerous in her incredulity and John glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

Cam shook her head, "No. We refused to leave." She straightened at the looks some of the 'Lanteans gave her, "Atlantis is the only home we've ever known. We'd only been to earth once and all of us but Torren were too young to remember. And Ben has never been."

"We were able to convince Evan and Radek to let us stay behind, they weren't happy about it, but I think they knew we were only asking out of professional courtesy," Liz shrugged, almost looking amused, "nothing could have made us leave Atlantis. It's our home."

"They came up with a cover story to tell the IOA," Meredith continued, inching somewhat unconsciously toward the younger version of her father, "We knew eventually we'd be found out, but they'd enacted a lock-out protocol on the gate, permanently preventing earth dialing from both sides. So, Liz flew the city to another part of the planet in case they sent the Apollo or the Deadalus. Then we cloaked it."

"Why not another planet? Why stay here?" John asked.

Liz smiled a little and shrugged, "We figured the last place they would look for the city is right where they left it."

John thought a moment and then nodded, "good point."

"We spent the next year and a half working on our plan," Torren spoke again, his voice a little less certain than before, but still commanding the attention of his younger teammates, "Since it was just the five of us it didn't require nearly as much power to run the city and we were able to keep it cloaked the entire time. Thus, safe from Michael and the Wraith."

"When we left, we submerged it." Liz finished.

McKay opened his mouth to protest but Meredith lifted a hand, knowing what he was about to say, "It's actually not that hard. We'd done it a couple times in the past, well, you had anyway. You showed me how once." She shrugged and looked down, "We are sorry we lied to you," she twisted her pen around in her hands nervously while she stood a few personal space preserving feet away fro Rodney, "But it was the safest thing…" she looked up and glanced around the packed quarters, "for all of us."

This time the silence that fell was thick and heavy and only Ronon was strong enough to break it.

"It must have been hard," his voice was low and gruff. Nine heads swiveled to look at him, but he kept his gaze firmly on the ground, "being here. Being home, but pretending it wasn't."

"Having none of us know you," Jennifer added quietly, her red eyes and face sure indications that she was inches from tears. Ronon watched her out of the corner of his eye but she was putting on a brave face, in spite of it all.

Liz nodded, shifting on the couch so she was leaning a little bit more on Ben, "It's been pretty much horrible, but…" she shrugged, "we did what had to be done. We can't afford to regret it."

The other children nodded their agreement and Teyla was reminded of their first meeting. How all the Yanarins had presented a united front, professional, as if well versed in both military and diplomatic proceedings.

"It explains why you are all so accustomed to military procedure," she reasoned aloud. John glanced at her, "Being raised here, on a military base."

Cam smiled and rolled her eyes, "oh yeah. Military brats through and through," she glanced at Ben and Liz, who smiled and nodded, "we always say used to say that our first words weren't 'da da' they were 'Sir yes sir'."

Torren laughed a little and the sound was infectious, and all the Yanarins started to giggle, their overstressed nerves and under-rested bodies betraying them and making them punchy. And the 'Lanteans found themselves smiling without reason and glancing between the children and each other, feeling a little as if they'd missed the punch line of a joke.

"Well, not me," Meredith said, still smiling, "I'm a scientist. All the way."

"Yeah, and insubordinate as hell," Cam agreed, "the apple doesn't fall far from the super computer."

"Hey!" Rodney and Meredith said at the same time. Ronon rolled his eyes and John laughed.

"She got you McKay."

Neither McKay saw any reason to dignify him with a response.

"Oh wait!" Jennifer sat up suddenly, "The Colonel mentioned something about an immunity to the wraith stunner?" she looked around eagerly, that was information she could most definitely find time to look into.

"Yeah," Liz shrugged, "we all have it. Well, except for Torren." She grinned cheekily at her brother and he made a face.

"You all have it?" Sheppard repeated.

"It's a side effect from when you were on the wraith enzyme," Cam explained, "the drug itself broke down and left your system, but what we call micro-residue was left behind and bonded with your DNA. It didn't alter yours at all, but when you passed it on to us it…rearranged some things. Mostly we just get the stunner immunity thing, and to varying degrees, Ben just has it the strongest."

"Mostly?" Rodney asked.

"Yeah, well, sometimes Mere talks faster than the human ear can actually translate, but that's really just a McKay thing."

"Alright already, can we lay off the McKay jokes?" Meredith said, giving Cam an exasperated look. The other girl just shrugged.

"Why did Torren not receive the immunity? I was on the enzyme for a time and it was passed to Liz," Teyla asked, nodding toward her son, whom she kept finding herself staring at, even if just to prove that this wasn't all a dream.

"We were never really sure, but we think it's because of his wraith DNA, that it somehow counteracted the effects of the enzyme," Cam answered.

Teyla nodded and looked at John, who had his hands on his hips, "what happens now?" he said finally.

"Now we leave," Torren answered, "We've done enough damage already just be being here. Now that we've told you all of this…" he shook his head, "the results will most certainly be catastrophic, at least for us."

Meredith suddenly brightened, "Maybe not. I've been working on the Time-Line Variance Algorithm," she quickly retrieved her laptop and went to set it up at the table where Rodney and Ronon sat, "I think I've got it."

With a couple of clicks she pulled up a document with at least three pages full of numbers, letters and mathematical symbols that baffled almost everyone in the room. Rodney stared at it with rapt attention and a couple minutes later he looked at Meredith with wide eyes.

"You did it! This is the kind of stuff Einstein only dreamed of!" His smile was reminiscent of a child on Christmas morning. Everyone had gathered around the small computer and he pushed forward to get a closer look.

"Actually," the girl blew some blonde hair from her eyes and began hesitantly, "you did it."

Rodney's head shot up, "what?"

"This is your algorithm, I just finished it. You did all the hard stuff," she smiled, "a side project between finding new ways to defeat the wraith, fight Michael and search for ZedPMs."

McKay's expression was a cross between dumbfounded and delighted, "you're telling me…I created a viable means of time travel?"

Meredith shrugged, "well, you wrote the algorithm and wrote the specs in theory. I'm the one who built the thing," Liz gave her a look, "with help, I mean."

"You did?" McKay asked, looking back at the computer.

The girl grinned, "yeah. I call it the _flux capacitor_."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

"What? I love that movie."

"McKay, focus." Sheppard reminded him, barely concealing a self-satisfied smirk.

McKay rolled his eyes and then went back to scrolling through the obscenely complicated algorithm, "this really is amazing," he grabbed the laptop and scooted it further in front of himself, "I mean, I always knew I would do great things but this…this is beyond anything I could have thought possible."

Meredith smiled at his excitement and the two hunched over the keyboard and the rest left them to their musings.

The kids went back to their previous seats on the couch and chair. Teyla and Jennifer joined Ben and Liz on the sofa and John and Ronon each pulled up chairs so they were sitting in a sort of semi-circle.

"So, you're really going back?" John asked, looking at Torren first and then the others.

Torren nodded, answering for them all.

"I thought you said you had nothing to go back to?" Ronon pointed out.

"Well, we're hoping that, in helping you defeat Michael now, we've erased all the bad stuff that happens in the future," Liz explained.

"Like you all dieing and Atlantis being evacuated," Cam said.

"And that we kept all the good stuff."

"Like us being born."

Jennifer frowned, "so that's it? After everything we just…hope for the best?"

Cam looked over at Meredith and her father, arguing quietly and enjoying every minute of it, "pretty much." She nodded, looking back at the younger version of her mother.

"It is a very large hope," Teyla said quietly, looking at John and Ronon and then over to her son, "with a very great risk."

"It's already been worth it," Liz glanced up hesitantly at her father. John met her eyes and smiled encouragingly, nodding that he agreed.

"And hope," Torren said finally, "is all we have."

_TBC_


	15. Connections

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay...I really dislike how this chap turned out, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

**Disclaimer**: Not mine, but I'm entering negotiations with Sci-fi to see about gaining the rights to Ronon...

**Chapter Fifteen – Connections**

"You are distracted, Colonel." Teyla admonished, blocking his stick and spinning to her left.

"Gee, I wonder why that is," John responded, jumping when she swung at his ankle and ducking when she swung at his head. He backed off, twirling his sticks in his hands as they circled one another, catching their breath.

"I thought we were doing this so you could clear your head," she ran toward him, faked an attack on his right and then swung to his left, hitting him firmly in the side. He grunted when his knees buckled but quickly rolled away from her and go back to his feet.

"We did. I just don't think it's working."

Teyla nodded her agreement when, not ten seconds later, she had already landed two more well swung hits on his legs and had tripped him so that he landed on his back. Hard. She let her hands fall to her side and looked down at the Colonel, who was sprawled out on the mat.

"Perhaps we should stop for the day."

"I'm fine." John said, barely audibly, trying to get back the breath he'd lost on that last fall, "and for the record, I'd prefer if you used my first name when we spar. I don't need to be reminded of my rank when I'm getting my ass kicked."

Teyla sighed and shook her head, padding across the gym to place her sticks back in her bag.

"What are you doing?" John asked, sitting up slowly, "I said I was fine."

Teyla swung her bag up onto her shoulder, "I do not wish to hurt you anymore today, John."

He pursed his lips, still sitting on the floor and locked his arms loosely around his knees. Teyla took his lack of protest as a sign that he agreed their session should be over for the day. She started to leave, but something made her stop at the door and she suddenly turned back.

"You were extremely quiet before."

John looked at her without moving his head and then looked away. He shrugged, "A lot to take in."

"Do you not believe them?"

His answer was immediate, "I believe them."

"Then what is it then? You seem like something is bothering you," she smiled slightly, "_aside_ from the obvious."

John sighed and leaned back, his palms behind him and crossing his legs at the ankles, "It's just a lot to process. I mean…they're our kids, Teyla." He paused, frowning at his shoelaces, "Elizabeth is our daughter, you and I…" He trailed off and Teyla tilted her head, coming to stand closer before sitting down beside him.

"Yes, did you not want children?"

His head whipped over to her. The question wasn't that surprising really, it was just the _way_ she said it. Like it was a foregone conclusion. Like she'd known all along that it would be him and her eventually and had just been waiting for him to figure it out. He'd been worried that hearing Liz say she was their child would scare Teyla off, she'd only lost Kanaan a few months ago. But now, it seemed, the only one at all freaked out by the situation was him.

"No, I mean yes," he looked away, trying to un-tangle his tongue, "I've always liked kids and all but…I guess I never really thought I would have any, especially not after coming here."

Teyla nodded, accepting his answer and turning to look at the mat in front of her folded legs, "So the idea is not…undesirable then?"

"No," he answered, too quickly again, having trouble forming coherent thoughts when she was sitting so close, "No, not at all. Just," He stuck out his bottom lip and shrugged, "unexpected."

She nodded again, shifting so that her legs were folded beside her and she was leaning a little closer to John. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, but said nothing.

"I sense there is something more."

He wasn't surprised at her intuition, she read him like no one else could. So he hardly hesitated before responding, "It's Liz she's," he paused, searching for the right word and Teyla waited patiently, "fantastic. I barely know her and I can already tell. She's…" He shook his head, at a loss. Teyla smiled, nudging him with her shoulder and then not moving away so that the lengths of their arms remained touching.

"She is you," she met his eyes when he looked at her, "and I agree. She is fantastic."

SGASGASGASGA

Torren spotted Ronon in the hallway and nodded to him in greeting.

"Ronon."

"Torren." The Satedan said, finding it a little strange to be addressing the full grown version of the baby he'd just finished holding in Teyla's room. He'd stopped by to see if Teyla was there but Dr. Simmons, who'd been watching the child, said she hadn't yet returned from sparring with the Colonel.

"I am glad you are here." The young man said, stopping a few feet from him.

Ronon paused, glancing around, "In the hallway?"

Torren just held up his hand, where he held a pair of _bantos _sticks, each broken in half. Ronon furrowed his brows and took them.

"What's this?"

"These are Cam's. She broke them beating on one of your fight dummies." Torren said matter-of-factly, "I think perhaps you should go talk to her."

Ronon sighed. He knew that, of course, but wasn't so sure that was something he wanted, "shouldn't you be the one to talk to her?"

Torren gave him a knowing smile that reminded him of Teyla, "I am not the one she is angry with." He continued on his way down the hall, leaving Ronon to glare down at the broken sticks in his hand, wondering what he would do next.

SGASGASGASGA

"Where are you going?" Liz asked. She and Ben had left their room together and seemed to have silently agreed that the Mess was their mutual destination. But as they rounded the corner that led to a split in the hallway, the right leading to the mess, the left leading further into the catacombs of Atlantis, Ben had begun to part ways with her.

He hadn't seen her stop and she reached out, touching his arm so that he looked at her.

"Where are you going?" She repeated.

_Infirmary_.

She smiled, her disappointment at not sharing a meal dissolving instantly, "Good idea."

_Yeah?_ Ben didn't seem so sure. In fact, he was sure that Cam and Torren would disapprove if they knew.

Liz shrugged, "what have you got to lose?"

Ben considered this and nodded. He glanced over her shoulder and saw Colonel Sheppard a few meters away, heading inside the Mess still dressed in workout pants and tennis shoes. Ben frowned thoughtfully.

"What?" Liz asked, noting his strange expression with interest.

_Remember all the things you always meant to say to your dad?_

She hesitated and then nodded.

_You should tell him._

Liz glanced over her shoulder, as if sensing that John was nearby, but he had already disappeared inside the room. She looked back at Ben, now chewing her lip mercilessly.

"What if he doesn't remember?" her voice was hardly audible, but Ben was reading her lips. He raised an eyebrow and bent to kiss her quickly, signing in her hand as he did so.

_What if he does?_

_TBC_


	16. Yesterday Is Over

**A/N:** Didja miss me? Hope so, cuz this chap is just chock full of...i don't even know what. I just know it took forever to write!

**A/N2:** Assuming Torren was born July of 2008 when Search and Rescue aired...

**Disclaimer**: See Chapter 1.

**Chapter Sixteen - Yesterday is Over**

_October 2029_

_She ran her fingers lightly over the controls, but the panel remained dull and without power. This seemed strange to her because the one thing she really, truly wanted was to go. Anywhere, fly as far away as she could get and see if losing someone hurt the same when you were on the other side of the galaxy. She turned back and forth in the pilots chair, staring at the darkened console. In her minds eye she remembered watching her father's hands, sure and smooth as they danced across these same controls thousands of times. He used to sit her on his lap and guide her own tiny hands across them. _

_She sighed and glanced around. The jumper seemed so much bigger then, but it was never too big because there were always at least three other people in it with her. Now she was grown up and the vast emptiness of the small craft was almost overwhelming. On the other side of the view screen she could see the jumper bay was dark. It seemed like the whole city was dark these days. Since the last of Atlantis' personnel had been evacuated she and the others had kept almost entirely to the control tower, leaving the rest of the city to shut down and lay dormant. It was almost cruel._

_She looked up when she sensed another presence in the jumper and watched in the reflection of the view screen as Torren approached and sat in the co-pilots chair._

_"You spend an inordinate amount of time in empty jumpers." He said. _

_She cracked a smile, "you're just mad 'cause you can't fly it." _

_"Can too." _

_She raised an eyebrow._

_"Well, I am sure if I was given the opportunity, I could." He furrowed his brow and touched the controls reverently. He'd idolized his father's flying ability and had been more than jealous of his sister when they discovered that the strength of her ATA gene rivaled the General's. _

_"Don't make that pouty face, you can fly wraith ships, remember?" _

_"And we have so many of those just laying around."_

_Liz shook her head at her older brother's childishness and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes. _

_"Remember when he used to take over the controls when Uncle Rodney was flying without him knowing?" she began, smiling at the memory, "he'd be so excited that he was finally going in a straight line and then Dad would suddenly jerk to the right or to the left,"_

_"Or do a loop?" Torren added, smiling as well and Liz laughed. _

_"Rodney always freaked out and started complaining about the lack of 'seatbelts' and 'airbags'." She scrunched up her face in confusion and Torren shrugged, "I never got that."_

_"It's an Earth thing. I have a vague memory of when we visited having to put on a seatbelt in a 'booster seat'. Cars definitely do not have inertial dampeners."_

_Liz nodded her agreement, although she didn't remember the Earth trip at all. Her father had always meant to take them back to visit again, but every time they planned it something would go wrong in the city or with SGC and they couldn't follow through. Not that Liz was really all that disappointed. Rodney was always telling them horror stories of life without transporters and gate travel and Liz would just as soon stay in Pegasus if it was all the same. Even now, even after everything she had no desire to go to Earth._

_"You think Meredith can really make this work?" She looked at Torren, "I mean, time travel? That's like…" she shook her head. _

_"Impossible?" _

_"Seems like it." _

_Torren shrugged, "If anyone can make the 'impossible' reality, it is a McKay." He stood up, silently beckoning her to follow him back to the control room where the others were no doubt gathered. Liz did unquestioningly, effectively distracted from the sorrowful musings that had drawn her to the dark jumper in the first place. _

_"I guess so. But what about all that 'we could destroy the space-time continuum stuff'? I'm sorry but the effects of tampering with a time dilation field haven't changed just because she found the results inconvenient."_

_Torren slung a long arm across his sisters shoulders, "Another thing McKays are good at, breaking their own rules." _

_Liz rolled her eyes and the doors opened automatically on their approach, "They're the laws of physics. They're not her rules to break." _

_Torren shrugged again just as the doors slid shut behind them, "Again, I would not suggest telling her that." _

Present

After leaving Ben, Liz continued to the Mess and loaded up for lunch. She was pleased to see they were serving her favorite, tacos with chocolate ice cream for dessert. She smiled brightly at the cooks and then moved on to finding a seat. The room was full, but not overly so, but Liz decided she'd rather sit out on the balcony anyway.

The sun was out, a slight breeze whipped at her ponytail as she stepped outside, inhaling the salty-fresh air reflexively. The hair on the back of her neck prickled, alerting her that she was being watched, and she stiffened slightly as she scanned the tables. Then stiffened more when she realized who it was.

John waved casually at her and, after hesitating, she walked over to his table.

"May I sit?"

John sat up straighter and pointed at the chair opposite himself, "be my guest."

She smiled shyly and sat down, the knot that had taken up residence in her stomach was renewed as Ben's words replayed in her head.

_What if he does?_

"Heavy on the guac." John commented.

Liz looked up, confused. He pointed at her plate. Her tortillas were smeared with a double helping of guacamole under the sour crème and ground beef. She shrugged.

"It's good."

John nodded, "I agree." He said, indicating the cereal bowl sized dish he'd gotten filled with the green dip that was now half gone. Liz smiled and started to pick at her tacos.

"I hear the repairs are almost finished." John said, attempting to make conversation.

"Mm-hm." She nodded, finally pushing aside the mostly untouched food and focusing on the ice-crème, "Torren says we leave as soon as Cam is feeling up to it. She's not one for sitting around so it'll probably be sooner rather than later."

John looked down at his plate, "Yeah. I kind of figured that."

"I have enjoyed being here," Liz said suddenly.

"Yeah?" John smiled slightly at her.

She nodded, eagerly. "It wasn't always easy but…well," she shrugged, grinning somewhat mischievously, "if this works suffice to say we have a much more well-rounded view of you all."

John dipped his chin, "and by that you mean you have blackmail material."

Her grin was now unmistakably mischievous, but she didn't respond.

John balled up his napkin and threw it on his tray, "all right, what have you got?"

Liz only shrugged, "I'm not saying a word." She drew her thumb and forefinger across her lips as if zipping them and made a locking motion.

John just shook his head, "I've been a bad influence on you, I can already tell."

The girl's smile faltered a bit and she went back to stirring her half melted ice-crème around in its bowl.

"What?" John asked, sensing her change in mood.

She sighed, "It's just that, um, there's a possibility, slight though it may be with McKay2 on the job, that we'll never see each other again."

"Liz-"

"No Dad. John. Dad," she shook her head at herself, "this is important."

John closed his mouth and nodded.

She took a deep breath and began, "In case you end up having kids and I'm not one of them I want you to know…you're a much better father than you give yourself credit for. I mean, you were always worried that you…somehow cheated us of something by keeping me and Torren here. You were always thinking you should have sent us to live with your mother on Earth, that we would have been better off growing up in a world untouched by the wraith. But…I want you to know that's not true. Atlantis is home. She protects us, she needs us," Liz frowned, trying to think of how she wanted to say what she needed to say, "I don't regret my life here, in spite of everything. The wraith aren't that scary anyway and Michael is…he's like spiders. Evil but, get a big enough shoe and he's still gonna lose."

John smiled and it made Liz relax a bit, "And I was never, not once, scared of anything when I knew you were around. I knew you wouldn't let anything happen to me. To any of us."

John took a deep breath, his mind chewing over her words carefully. Him? A good father? He wasn't even sure most of the time if he was a good person.

He looked back at Liz and could see her eyes brimming with sincerity and decided to try and take them to heart.

"You were a good dad, John," she finished quietly, "please remember that."

* * *

_June 2028_

_Cam worried about her being alone, but she didn't really have to. Ben hardly ever left her side. He didn't really mind the stuffy hazmat suits, or the 'goldfish syndrome' caused by being in the quarantine room and having various members of the expedition stare down at them from above. Well, perhaps he minded, but not nearly as much as Cam, who grew restless after only a few hours and certainly not enough to deter him from coming. _

_Usually he sat in silence beside his mother's bed. The treatments they were using to slow down the deadly virus made her sleep most of the time, and usually when she was awake, she was not lucid, speaking endlessly of his father and her home on Earth. But sometimes she was, and Ben clung to those brief moments of coherency like a lifeline, replaying them over and over in his mind when the endless hours got the better of him._

_What was more, the bulky rubber gloves prevented him from signing so he could only speak to her, which took much longer than he would have liked. She was always patient of course, endlessly so as if she had an eternity to wait while he tried to bridle his useless tongue. _

_It was around three am on a Tuesday the last time she awoke. Ben had been dozing slightly, but was instantly alert when she groaned a little and shifted on the bed. _

_"P-pain?" He asked anxiously, sitting forward in the chair, his finger poised over the button on a nearby machine that automatically dispensed morphine when ordered to do so. _

_She shook her head, her bangs long since stuck to her forehead with sweat, despite the fact that the room was only around 50 degrees._

_He sat back from the morphine and watched her as her eyes traveled slowly around the sparse room. There were chairs scattered around the bed along with several different machines taking information on everything from her heart-rate to her __white blood cell levels. All at the doctor's request in hopes of finding a cure for next time._

_Ben hated that. He didn't care about the 'next time' this virus struck. He cared about _this_ time._

_"How are you doing, baby?" She asked, turning her head slowly. Her eyes focused on him, waiting for his answer. _

_"F-fine." He said, automatically. _

_She raised an eyebrow, "that's Cam's line." _

_Ben allowed himself to smile slightly, she was all there today, "I g-guess that d-depends on w-what y-your asking." _

_Her eyes sharpened and she moved to touch his gloved hand, "you know exactly what I'm asking Benjamin."_

_His smile faded, his throat thickening almost instantly. His large rubber gloves dwarfed her hands in comparison as he wrapped them firmly around them, but he didn't answer. _

_She searched his face and it softened with motherly concern, "You're crying baby." She almost reached up to thumb away the tears that rolled down his tan cheeks, but stopped herself when she realized how pointless it would be to try. The windshield of Plexiglas in the hazmat helmets prevented any skin-to-skin contact._

_Ben looked down, gasping a few breaths in an attempt not to sob, "I'm s-sorry Mom."_

_Jennifer's brow furrowed in confusion, the sound of her son's choked sobs clawing at her gut, "For what, Ben?"_

_He looked back up at her, now almost kneeling beside the bed, "B-because I know h-how much p-pain you're in a-and I still w-want you to s-s-stay." He said haltingly, and added mournfully, "and I c-can't even h-hug you." _

_Tears filled her eyes at the anguish in the boy's voice, immediately understanding his desire because in that moment, there was nothing she wouldn't have given for the chance to wrap her arms around him. _

_She shook her head, refuting his first statement, "Don't be sorry, honey. I want to stay too." _

_At this Ben closed his eyes and bent his head to rest it on the edge of the mattress. All she could do was lay her trembling hand on top of the suit's hard plastic helmet and whisper promises of staying as long as she possibly could. Later that night she slipped back into unconsciousness and this time, she didn't wake up. _

Present

When Ben appeared in the infirmary Jen had been glad to see him. There were so many more questions she wanted to ask. She wanted to know these children, especially Ben and Cam. She wanted to see who the people she and Ronon would create, would be like.

She'd invited him into her office and shut the door, not wanting to be overheard. She knew she shouldn't ask questions, but the actual task of not doing so turned out to be harder than she thought.

"It's a little strange, neither of you going into medicine." She said, convincing herself that, since it wasn't really a question, it was okay.

"Cam d-did." Ben said, looking at her degrees and awards, framed on the far wall.

Jennifer looked surprised, "I didn't know that."

He shrugged one shoulder, looking down at her desk and then over at the bookshelf in the corner, "She w-was like your s-shadow for f-fourteen years. Y-you and d-dad used to t-talk about s-sending her t-to Earth when s-she got old enough so she could g-go to m-med school."

"Really?" she was delighted at the prospect and twisted her pen in nervous anticipation of what the future might bring, "What happened?"

Ben glanced at her, "the w-wraith."

She mouthed 'oh' and nodded, remembering what they'd said about Cam being captured by the wraith and having to watch as Ronon and two other Marines were fed on. The thought of it made bile rise in her throat all over again.

"I g-guess she thought i-if she'd been a b-better fighter she w-would have b-been able to s-save Dad and the o-others."

"Do you think she could have?"

Ben shook his head, "D-dad spent f-fourteen years t-t-training her. S-she already knew everything a-about hand-to-h-hand combat, at l-least all the i-important stuff."

She nodded, "so she isn't really that much better of a fighter now than she was then?"

"Sh-she's m-much better," his tone was proud, but his eyes were sad, "s-she didn't have the f-fire before, always s-s-said she w-was a healer n-not a k-killer. A-after that m-mission s-she wanted n-n-nothing to do w-with healing, s-said she c-could do more to p-protect us by e-eliminating any th-threats posed."

Jennifer sighed deeply, shifting against the uncomfortable weight that had settled in her stomach and looking at her desk. She found her excitement for the future dwindling rapidly, "I must have been the odd-ball of the family," she said, as lightly as she could, "I can't fight worth a darn."

"Y-you can in our t-time."

Jennifer looked up and Ben smiled.

"D-dad always s-s-said he wouldn't have a-anyone in his f-family be d-defenseless in a fight."

"Really? That's going to take some getting used to."

"D-don't worry. Y-you've got time."

Jennifer rewarded his joke with a smile, she sat back in her chair, looking him over. "And what about you? What were you like before?"

Ben seemed a little caught off-guard by the question and glanced around the room as if searching for the answer in the red-metal walls. He looked back at her, "Q-qu-quiet."

This time she laughed out loud. Ben watched her, smiling himself, locking the sound away in his memory to be treasured eternally no matter what the future brought.

* * *

_March 2029_

_He found her in the lab, her pale face illuminated by the even paler glow of a laptop computer. _

_"You should rest, miláčku."_

_Meredith didn't have to look up to see who it was. "I can't Radek. I can't sleep in this place. It's like a ghost town," she finally paused in her incessant typing and sat back, her voice low enough he had to strain to hear it, "and I just keep thinking over and over there must have been something we could have-"_

_"Ne. No. There was nothing. Nothing any of us could have done." _

_"I refuse to believe this is it for them!" she exploded, spinning around on her stool to face the Czech scientist, "Carson got a second chance, so did Dr.Weir, twice. Why should it be any different for Dad and John? For Ronon, Jennifer, Teyla? There has got to be another way."_

"Meredith those were extenuating circumstances. Dr. Weir had nanites that allowed her consciousness to interact with advanced technology and Carson was cloned. We don't have either of those avenues at our disposal." Zelenka tried to reason with the distraught girl, but he had a feeling it was pointless.

_Meredith looked defeated, but only for a moment. Then she suddenly looked up, as if an idea had literally just struck her in the side of the head, "actually, there's one more way." _

_"What?" He asked, sincerely interested. Rodney had been a pain most of the time, but if there was a way to get him back…_

_Meredith ignored his question and slid over to a different laptop, hit a few keys to enter her pass codes and brought up a numerical document. _

_"Yes! This is it! Dad's work on the Time-Line Variance Algorithm." _

_"Time travel?" Zelenka approached, peering over her shoulder at the computer._

_"Yeah! I mean the work incomplete but I think I can finish it. This could work." She was practically /salivating at the idea. She bent forward studying the numbers more closely._

_"Wait, Meredith, you're talking about finishing a complex, highly variable advanced quantum mechanics algorithm, building a time-dilation device, running simulations and traveling back in time to change our present?" _

_"Yeah," she said in that 'get to the point or get out of my way' tone._

_"Have you any idea how crazy that sounds. It's impossible!"_

_"Oh, really? I'll show you." _

_"No, you don't understand. Messing around with the time-line is not a good idea. It could have catastrophic effects for everyone, especially if you were somehow able to disrupt the sequence of events that led up to your existence." _

_"So we'll go back after we're born." _

_"No! That would be worse, encountering yourself in another timeline could create a space paradox that might very likely could destroy the fabric of our universe." _

_She thought a moment, "might?" _

_Radek gave her a look. _

_"What? I'm just making sure I'm clear." She looked back at the algorithm and began studying it intensely, "Look, if dad was working on it it couldn't have been that dangerous and it's the only shot they've got."_

_Radek was silent for several long moments and Meredith was so engrossed in her reading that she almost didn't notice him leaving the lab. She spun around toward him._

_"Radek, where are you going?" _

_"To get you some coffee, miláčku, you'll be up all night." _

_Meredith grinned and spun back around to the laptop, the dark cloud in the physics lab, dissipated. _

Present

"It seems as though you would have wanted to come back earlier."

Meredith looked up and made a face at Rodney. They were sitting side by side in his lab, laptops out and fingers flying over the keys as she made some fine tuning adjustments to the algorithm and he checked her work.

"What do you mean?"

Rodney didn't look up. "You stood a better chance of not disturbing the events leading up to your…conceptions."

Meredith looked at him.

"I just mean it would have been better for you if you came back earlier."

She nodded, returning to her own computer, "I know. But the way our flux capacitor-"

"Could you not call it that?"

"But that's it's _name_."

Rodney rolled his eyes and Meredith sighed.

"The way our _device_ works requires accelerating to the brink of overload with our modified hyper drive and then, the actual act of traveling through time depletes extraordinary amounts of energy from our main systems." She brought up a simulation that showed the pattern of the Tepe's power depletion, "This is as far back as I could take us without completely burning out the engines and you saw the damage that created."

Rodney studied her data and shuddered at the memory of her mangled jump drive.

He frowned and pulled the computer closer, scanning through her results, "Maybe there's a way we can modify the power intakes and outputs to drain less power from your main systems."

Meredith watched, entranced, as he went over her data and brought up a schematic of her drives. He pointed out to her different areas where a bypass would prove helpful and where her calculations were incorrect, which she defended adamantly. They spent an hour pouring over the data and fine-tuning the algorithm mostly in silence and Meredith did her best to commit every moment to memory.

Again, Rodney was the first to speak, "What will you do if this doesn't work?"

"It will," she responded without hesitation.

"It _might_," Rodney corrected, his desire for her to understand the reality of the situation overpowering his normally egocentric nature, "it's not a guarantee. What if you go back and nothing's changed, or at least, not enough to matter."

Meredith pursed her lips, "we have a backup plan." She sighed, staring at the countertop, "the gate in Atlantis isn't capable of Earth-dialing anymore, but it can dial other gates in Pegasus. I'll have to reestablish the links between the 34 components of the gate-bridge, since the IOA brass saw fit to disassemble it, and I'll take us there. Earth."

"You wouldn't want to stay in Pegasus?"

"What for?" Mere snapped slightly, "Michael has taken over. Everyone who's not a hybrid is dead or dying. And anyone who is a hybrid wishes they were dead. Evan, Katie, Carson, Radek, they're all on Earth. If this doesn't work, they're all we've got left."

Rodney swallowed and turned back to the computer, his expression as somber.

"Well then, for your sake, lets hope this works."

Meredith smiled and rolled her eyes. Some things never change.

* * *

_April 2029_

_She found him on one of the highest balconies off the eastern pier. It was a place he'd visited often with his mother, it was her favorite place to meditate. He was sitting cross-legged in the center of the platform, wind that still carried strength even this far from the water, whipped at his hair and clothes. She stood back in the doorway, watching over his shoulder as the Apollo lifted off for another search and rescue mission. It had been three weeks and they still had no clues as to what had happened to John and Rodney. Cam could tell optimism was wearing thin in the Atlantis brass, it wouldn't be long before they called off the search altogether._

_Torren knew it too, she could tell. That was why she'd sought him out, and it was why she'd found him here._

_Balling her fists at her sides, she padded in bare feet across the balcony and sat down beside him._

_"I'm sorry Torren." She whispered after several minutes of silence._

_Torren blinked, licked his lips and looked at her, as if he'd just noticed she was there. He looked back out at the horizon, "we will find him. Both of them."_

_Cam swallowed, shifting so that she was sitting Indian-style and fiddled with her hands in her lap, "I didn't mean your father. I meant Teyla."_

_Tears he'd forbade sprang to his eyes and, not trusting his voice, he made no response._

_"I wish," her voice cracked slightly and she tried again, "I wish I could tell you that it gets better, easier." She shrugged slightly and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, "but I haven't gotten there yet so I don't know."_

_He did look at her then, watching the way her loose curls fluttered gently in the wind, "The pain will subside. Together we will defeat this, little warrior."_

_Cam winced, instantly feeling guilty. She'd come here looking to console him and, not only had she failed at that, but now he was comforting her. By the time she turned her head to look back over at him, he was staring again. At first glance he looked almost fine, but upon looking closer she could see the way he grit his teeth to keep his chin from trembling and how his hands shook even when clasped together. He blinked his eyes repeatedly to keep tears from falling and the torment of recent loss radiating from him was unmistakable._

_"I can't make the pain go away," she said in a hoarse whisper and paused, waiting for him to look at her, "but I think I can make it easier for a while."_

_"How?" Torren raised his eyebrows, assuming she was going to suggest a drug or herbal remedy her mother had taught her about once. But, much to his surprise, she did not stand and lead the way back to the main tower. Instead she leaned closer to him, hesitantly and slow until they were almost nose-to-nose. Then, glancing a few times between his eyes and lips, she closed the gap, kissing him hard and hot. She braced a hand on his chest before parting his lips with her tongue and exploring his mouth eagerly._

_His eyes closed momentarily before he reached up and, putting a hand gently on her shoulder, pushed her back._

_"Cam," he started to ask her a dozen things, not the least of which being 'what are you doing' but he found he already knew the answers. Instead, he finished with, "not like this."_

_Tears he hadn't noticed before suddenly spilled down her cheeks, "Torren, this is all I know how to give you. Please." she took a deep trembling breath, "I want to."_

_Torren searched her eyes for several long, heart-stopping moments trying to think clearly enough to decide if this was really as good an idea as she seemed to think. But it turned out to be too much effort, and he couldn't stand the fear in her eyes while she waited. He placed his hands on either side of her face and pulled her back to him. She kissed him and he returned her passion in kind, their tears mingling on one another's cheeks and tasting salty on their lips. She moved to sit astride his lap and they took advantage of the dark shadow cast by the tower at their backs, losing their grief and pain, even if only for a moment, in one another._

Present

Torren knew better. He really shouldn't be here. He didn't need Meredith in his ear to tell him what the catastrophic effects of having further interaction with their parents could be. He really knew better.

He lifted his hand and swiped it over the door controls and a chime sounded inside the room. Seconds later they swished open and Teyla appeared, she looked somewhat shocked for a moment, and then smiled.

"Torren, please come in."

He nodded and followed her inside, looking around the room at her décor. He found he recognized many things from when he was growing up. He'd gone to take a closer look at a picture on the table of her and the team, a picture he'd seen dozens of times as a child, when she returned from the bedroom, a small, tightly wrapped bundle in her arms. He froze.

Teyla looked between her son and…her son. It was a very disorienting experience, to be holding her six-month old son in her arms and, just a few feet away, her adult son was standing, watching her. There were obvious differences of course, but she found some things, the sparkle in his eyes, his rarely seen smile, were identical. She wondered again how it was she hadn't noticed it before.

"Would you like to hold him?" she asked, hesitantly.

Torren swallowed. Now this was something he really shouldn't do. But, he found he did actually want to hold him. And what was that saying Cam liked to use? 'Go for broke'. After all, he'd come this far.

He held out his arms and Teyla carefully passed the baby to him. The little fussing Torren had been doing immediately ceased and he stared up at Torren with a gaze that left nothing to the imagination. He knew. Torren stared down, watched himself gripping his own finger and found the moment oddly existential. He couldn't move.

Teyla brought him from his trance, "How old were you?"

He saw she'd gone to sit on the couch and joined her. Assuming she meant all of the children, and not just himself, he said, "when Ronon was killed, Cam was fourteen, Ben was eleven. Three years later they lost their mother. A year after that was when Michael attacked the city. I was twenty-one, Cam nineteen, Liz and Meredith were seventeen and Ben was sixteen."

Teyla frowned at the ground, "only children," she said, mostly to herself. "And you spent the next two years working on how to get us back?"

"A year and a half, yes."

Anger flared within her and Teyla twisted Torren's baby blanket in her hands. On Athos it was known that a child might experience horrible things early on in life, as proven by her own experience with her father. But she'd thought, hoped, that it would be different for Torren and anyone to come after him here. That Atlantis would protect him. Now to learn that that wasn't the case, it made her want to question everything. Her decision to come here. Her decision to stay.

She shook her head, "But, I do not understand. You could have gone to Earth, continued living your lives in a place untouched by the Wraith. Instead you came here, put your own lives in jeopardy all for…what?"

"For you," Torren stated, adamantly, "If there was even one thing you taught us, it was that no one gets left behind. We believe that with every fiber of our beings. We could not just walk through the gate, go one living on Earth pretending we did not have a whole other life here. Parent's and family here. We could not do it. It would not have been fair to you."

Teyla looked away again, the conviction in his words said more than enough. They did not regret their decision. But she was already feeling the knot of motherly concern forming in her gut at the risk they had taken.

"We do not regret our decision," He finished, looking back down at the baby version of himself, who'd fallen asleep in his arms.

She watched him watching himself for several moments. The question fell off her lips without thinking, "What about the names?"

"What?"

She blinked, trying to remember what she'd said and tilted her head at his thoughtful expression at the child, "The names you used: Jorain, Alin, Kaila, Sarii. What do they mean? Where do they come from?"

"Oh, they are ancient words. Not science related so we knew Rodney would not know them and I was reasonably sure your understanding of ancient was limited enough for them not to give us away."

"You were correct," She slowly reached for Torren when the baby started to fuss and picked up a bottle off the table. Torren clasped his hands and leaned his elbows on his knees.

"Ben searched the ancient database for meanings and we each picked out our own. Alin means 'redemption', Kaila means 'great knowledge'," he smiled, "Sarii is 'flight' and Cam used her own name, although I forbade her to do so, but her Ancient name was Loleai which is 'warrior'."

"It fits," Teyla nodded, remembering the sparring match she had witnessed in the gym, "why did she not want to use it?"

He sighed, "She did not like the idea of lying to her parents. She has always been proud of being named after her paternal grandmother, apparently Ronon speaks very highly of her."

Teyla tried to think of even one time when Ronon had mentioned anything of his family on Sateda and came up empty. She knew the man to be intensely private and it was hard to imagine him ever being otherwise. She looked down at Torren, sucking happily on his bottle, and smiled. But, I suppose, children change you.

Torren caught her look and it twisted his insides. Her expression of motherly affection was one he recognized. One he missed.

"And yours? Jorain?"

He cleared his throat, "Oh, I couldn't find any words I liked, so the others picked mine for me."

"And what does it mean?"

He looked down once more at the child in her arms, so utterly defenseless, the name seemed even more unwarranted now than it had when his team presented it to him. But they'd been so adamant about it he hadn't had the heart to tell them he didn't deserve it. He hadn't protected them from anything in all their years, at least, not enough to matter.

He dragged his brown eyes back to hers.

"Guardian."

* * *

January 2025

_He'd meant to find her sooner, and now he was wishing he had. It was just that there was so much to be done when they first beamed her out. They were taking heavy fire from the hive and he had been flying a 302, trying to take some of the heat off the Apollo's already depleted shields. After General Ellis had ordered his flight back to the bay before entering hyperspace there had been debriefing upon debriefing and repairs to be made and medical examinations to be had. Three hours later all he'd wanted to do was sleep for the next two days that it would take them to get back to Atlantis. Then he'd received the radio call from Ensign Herrick. _

_"Colonel Sheppard? Could you come to the gym? We have a…situation."_

_He'd done an about face and headed back toward the lift, ordering it to take him down three flights to the recreation deck. He'd known without asking what the 'situation' was and had cursed himself the whole way there for forgetting about her._

_He found her right where the Ensign had said she would be, in the gym, literally beating the stuffing out of one of the crew's practice dummies. At her feet a pair of bantos sticks, borrowed from one of the crew who was learning the craft, lay broken and discarded. A group had gathered to watch as the grief-stricken girl pummeled the dummy into oblivion, somewhat surprised at her strength and stamina. But then, they hadn't known her father. _

_John promptly dismissed them all and sealed the room. She didn't seem to have noticed. He didn't say anything at first, realizing that this was probably the best thing for her. But when he saw the blood smeared across the head and torso of the polyethylene dummy, he stepped forward, calling her name. _

_"Cam." _

_She didn't pause and his heart-rate began to quicken slightly. If she was ignoring the pain caused by bleeding knuckles, there was no telling what other injuries she might have given herself and was too upset to notice, "Cam stop. Now!"_

_When her blows still did not lessen, sweat pouring down her face and back giving evidence to the fact that she'd been at it for quite a while, he stepped forward. He grabbed her arm on a back swing, attempting to catch her attention. Cam didn't hesitate. Instead of following through on her next hit for the dummy, she spun on her toes, aiming for John. _

_He ducked in time and caught her other fist, still calling her name. Now that she was facing him he could see that the moisture on her face wasn't sweat, but tears that filled her eyes and poured down her cheeks. _

_"Let me go!" she shrieked, jerking violently within his grasp, doing her best to hit him as she had the dummy, deaf and blind to his attempts to sooth her. _

_"Cam please," he tried. Suddenly she was able to slip her small wrists from between his fingers and he braced himself for a blow that would surely knock him through a loop. But instead of hitting him, she collapsed against him, her fingers clinging to him so tightly they scratched his back through the fabric of his jacket. She pressed her face against his chest and was instantly soaking the front of his shirt as she sobbed uncontrollably, all the energy she'd been using to keep them at bay suddenly depleted. _

_John's hand on her back supported her when her legs failed and he cradled her protectively against him as he had the very first time Ronon had placed her in his arms. He stroked the black curls cascading down her back gently, whispering nonsense that she couldn't hear over the sound of her sobs. _

_They wept together, she for her father, he for his friend._

Present

"These yours?"

Cam looked over at Ronon and the broken _bantos_ sticks he proffered her. She'd heard him approach, felt his eyes on her back for almost the entire time it had taken him to walk all the way out to the edge of the pier, but made no sign to acknowledge his presence. She'd even heard him stop about eight meters back, shifting on his feet and staring at her. Even then, she'd said nothing.

She took the useless sticks from his hands and he sat down beside her, legs hanging out over the edge, two or three meters from the icy ocean below. She put three pieces of the sticks beside her and twirled the other one between her fingers.

"I came to this pier everyday for three weeks after I got back from that wraith ship," She said, finally, "I was here when Mom…when the virus finally took her. Ben was with her I was here. I used to watch the lightning storms here as child."

Ronon looked up at the clear blue sky. They'd experienced a few of the lightning storms Cam spoke of since he'd been there, he'd found himself out on the balcony of his room more than once, watching the blue sparks explode against the cities' shield.

He looked back down and sighed. Never one to mince words, he began, "About what happened in the cell-"

"It doesn't matter." Cam cut him off.

"Yes it does," he told her firmly, "I was wrong."

Cam stiffened, still refusing to look at him, "We'd done nothing but lie and keep secrets from the moment we got here, you had no reason to trust us," she repeated words Torren had told her only hours before easily and then added, "I guess it was unfair of me to think you would. Like you would just…_know_."

"I didn't really think you were working with Michael."

"Then why did you accuse me of it?" She asked, not missing a beat.

"I was scared."

Cam's head whipped over, but Ronon was watching the water splash the sides of the pier, as if he hadn't said anything at all.

"You were scared?" She repeated, disbelievingly. As far as she knew, her father didn't possess the fear gene.

"Sheppard and Lorne were hurt, McKay had no plan B to speak of, I hate being locked up and I hate wraith labs even more. I was looking for someone to blame and you were an easy target," he looked over at her, Cam's eyes were wide, "I was wrong." He said again. This time Cam didn't question it. In fact, she surprised him a little when she merely started to laugh.

"What?"

Cam shook her head, "Nothing, just…that's got to be a first."

Ronon stared at her while she attempted to contain herself several times, "sorry. Sorry. I just never thought I would hear those words from you."

"Why not?"

She shook her head, "You and I, our relationship, it's always been…complicated." She shrugged, although she knew the reason well, "It always irritated you that I didn't like to 'the art of war'." She didn't see Ronon's incredulous expression, "before we lost you, I was practically glued to Mom. I wanted to be a doctor and, therefore, was completely against fighting. You trained me, but we always fought about it. You said I had potential but I just didn't have my heart in it." She shook her head, eyes lost in memory for a moment, and then smiled, "Now Ben, that kid can fight. Ever since he was little he's enjoyed sparring with you more than anything. He had the fire, I didn't. You always hated that."

Ronon nodded, accepting her explanation, "you don't want to be a doctor anymore?"

She sighed deeply and shrugged again, "I realized it was easier to kill than to heal."

Ronon felt a pang in his gut at her words, and right then and there he renewed his vow to kill every last wraith in the galaxy before his time was through. He didn't realize how long they'd sat in silence at the end of the pier until Cam stood up.

"I should be getting back."

He joined her and they began walking back toward the city and he noticed the sun had changed position significantly in the sky.

"So you and Torren…" he trailed off and waited. It wasn't usually in his nature to voice curiosity but the part of him that longed to be a father, the part he'd thought had long since died, had to know. He thought he saw Cam blush before she bowed her head, effectively covering her face with curls.

"We're friends. Nothing more." She said simply.

"Nothing." He repeated.

She nodded, "We are…we have to hold the team together. It's important that we stay focused. If we were to …be together, and then something went wrong, our whole team would fall apart. The center must hold, you know? Besides, Ben and Liz make sure to fill our 'romantic' quota and then some."

Ronon was silent for a while, he didn't really think that was the reason she kept Torren at arms length, but decided not to challenger her."You don't give yourselves enough credit."

"What do you mean?"

He shrugged, "I've watched him with you. He loves you." Cam's steps faltered but he continued as if he hadn't noticed, "He would be good for you, the way Jennifer is good for me."

Cam stared at Ronon for several paces as they closed the distance between themselves and the outer doors of the city. She swallowed hard and looked down at her boots.

"I know. I think that's why I resist him."

Ronon waited.

"I know if I were to lose him now, as we are, I would be devastated. But I would survive. But if he were…if we were more, and I lost him it would, without question, kill me where I stand."

Ronon reached out to stop her, "you shouldn't fear what hasn't happened."

Cam smiled wistfully, "you say that all the time."

"Then what's the problem?"

Her gaze faltered and she kicked her boots against the ground. "It's just that…there's this tradition you used to tell me about…" she mumbled "it just felt wrong…without you there to…"

He relaxed his shoulder. Now he understood. He was both flattered and surprised at the conviction with which she clung to the age-old Satedan tradition. After a moment, he reached out and put his hand on her shoulders. Cam looked up at him with reverential awe, her heart in her throat as he spoke.

"Torren is a good man, and he is a good match for you." Ronon's voice rumbled across the air between them, "and you have my blessing."

Cam's eyes lit up and before he knew what was happening, she was hugging him. Hard. With a slight smile, he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back.

_TBC_


	17. A Moment to Be Real

**A/N:** Hello everybody! We are nearing the end of this fic :sniffle: I know, I know. I'm sad too. Okay, here's the update and _muchisimas gracias_ for the reviews!!

**Disclaimer**: See Chapter 1.

**Chapter Seventeen – A Moment to Be Real**

Early morning hours on Atlantis were quiet, made one want to whisper so as not to disturb the sleeping city. Darkness crept into every corner and hid from the light that brought in a new day.

"I always wanted lots of kids." Jennifer mumbled, the movement of her lips tickling his chest. They basked in the gray glow of dawn, lying skin on skin in Ronon's large bed that sat on the floor of his quarters.

He paused in stroking the spot where her hair ended and her bare back began and smiled, loving the way she sometimes started talking as if they were in the middle of a conversation.

"Big families were rare on Sateda," he said quietly.

Jennifer smiled, she loved the way he whispered in the dark.

"Why?" She asked, turning to look up at him.

"People didn't usually live long enough to have lots of children."

She nodded solemnly and looked back down, drawing her fingers lightly over his chest.

"But having a big family was worthy of honor," he continued. She paused in her movementsto listen. "I meant you were strong and had survived multiple cullings and wraith attacks."

"Like you?"

He didn't answer. She turned to look at him and found he was staring at her.

"I want a big family, Ronon." She said after a minute.

He smiled, tightening his arm around her. He turned so she as on her back and hovered over her with a predatory smile on his lips.

"I think I can help with that," he growled. Jennifer laughed, believing him.

SGASGASGASGA

Jennifer stepped outside the transporter in the control tower. Her shift would be starting in a few minutes, but she'd heard the Yanarins were leaving today and she wanted to see them off.

She could see the dark curls and long leather jacket of one of them just a few meters up ahead.

"Cam," she called. The girl stopped and turned, smiling tightly as Jen hurried to catch up.

"Hi," was all she said, and then turned to continue on her way, Jen falling into step beside her.

"I'm on my way up to the Jumper Bay, you?"

Cam glanced at her out of the corner of her eye and nodded.

"Okay," Jen said, mostly to herself and folded her arms, "Don't talk much, do you?"

Cam didn't respond but in the subtle, frequent glances she made toward the girl she could see her biting her lip and her hand fell repeatedly to her gun holster, something Jen had come to recognize as a nervous tick, one Ronon shared.

"That's okay," Jen shrugged, "I'm kind of used to it." At Cam's smile Jen felt a little bit of her tension flow away, "Ben says you used to want to be a doctor."

"He's right."

"He also says you stopped practicing when Ronon…" she trailed off and shivers ran across her skin at the thought.

"Ben's good at recounting facts," Cam said shortly as they approached a fight of stairs.

"Why did you want to be? A doctor I mean." Jen asked when they'd reached the top.

Cam glanced again at Jennifer, but she was watching the floor, waiting for her answer.

"Why did you?"

"Me?" Jen seemed caught off guard but answered without much hesitation, "I wanted to help people."

Cam thought about this and nodded. That sounded like her mother.

"So why did you?" Jennifer asked again, genuinly curious about what the girl's answer would be.

Cam's pace slowed and Jen matched it until they were both standing in the hallway, the younger woman seeming to be in deep thought.

"Once, on Neverland-"

"Where?"

Cam looked up, confused at Jen's bewilderment, "Oh, I mean M7G-677. Some of the Marine's call it 'Neverland' because the planet is nothing but kids. They never grow up."

"But they don't practice the rituals anymore," Jen protested.

"No, but there's some weird biological anomaly that makes it so they don't live past 30 or so," Cam looked sad at this leaning one shoulder against the wall as she continued, "we were there one day administering vaccines and first aid and taking blood samples for research…There was this little girl, maybe four, she was terrified of us. You talked to her. Made her laugh," She looked up at Jennifer, "Made her trust you. So even when you gave her a shot, she didn't cry because she knew you were there to help her. The look on her face when you gave her a pink band-aid and a sucker...her smile," Cam shrugged, "I wanted to be a doctor more than anything after that."

She leaned against the wall a few moments more, lost in memory and Jennifer watched. The soft smile and unusual lightness in her green eyes was one she was sure had never been there before. When Cam returned to the present, her face went blank again and, though she forced a smile as they turned to continue on their way, it didn't hold a candle to the one she'd worn before.

They were almost to the Jumper Bay when Jennifer spoke again.

"I know you're a good fighter, Ronon was singing your praises that day he sparred with you and Ben," she saw Cam grin out of the corner of her eye, "and I think that's great. I admire that skill, it's one I don't think I'll ever master-"

"Don't count on it."

Jennifer smiled and shook her head, "What I mean is...I don't have a problem with strong women, obviously. I'm CMO of a military base made up of more than 70 men for crying out loud but…"

"But what?"

"Are you happy?" She asked abruptly.

Cam stopped and made a face, "what?"

Jennifer pursed her lips, and shrugged slightly, "I know you feel safer with a gun on your belt and knives up your sleeves but are you happy? Genuinely happy?"

Cam frowned thoughtfully, "I never really thought about it."

"What do you mean?"

They stood outside the Jumper Bay doors and Cam stuck her hands in her jacket pockets.

"Survival is all that's mattered for a long time." She shrugged, as if that said enough.

Jennifer nodded, looking down for a moment, "I think they should both matter." She looked back up and found Cam's eyes, "Promise me that when you get back to your time, no matter what it looks like, that you'll figure out what makes you happy and go after it. No matter what."

She waited and wasn't disappointed when Cam smiled slightly and nodded.

"Okay. I promise."

SGASGASGASGA

"Over here, Liz." Meredith called her friend. Liz looked up, she had been heading toward the Tepe but changed direction to meet Meredith at a nearby computer station.

"What's up?" Liz leaned her elbows on the console.

"I wanted to show you this, it's easier to explain to you than to Torren," Meredith handed her a tablet.

"Okay," Liz scrolled through the information, "sure yeah...so what does this mean?

Meredith rolled her eyes.

"What? I'm a pilot not a physicist."

She sighed, "Okay. Dad and I have been working on the algorithm and we postulate that the effects of disrupting the time-line, which is basically what we do when we travel through time," she explained, "actually does more than disrupt time, it disrupts human brain waves."

"That's not dangerous, is it?" Liz glanced at the Tepe. She could see Torren and John talking inside.

"No, not really. It just means, when this is all over, they're not gonna remember anything."

Liz looked sharply at Meredith, "what do you mean?"

Meredith didn't notice Liz' demeanor change, "it's not like a sudden amnesia. Just sort of a fading type thing. After we leave, they'll remember we were here, the people who had the most interaction with us, will remember the longest. But, over time, the memory will slowly fade which is an effect of the brain essentially re-routing itself around the disruption we created when we came here."

Liz looked down at the tablet, but it was gibberish now, she couldn't focus. She bit her lip, "They won't remember anything?"

Meredith shrugged, "Eventually. It will happen slowly, they'll think back on the time when we were here and it'll be like trying to remember a dream. It'll be vague. Then we'll be sort of like a feeling of déjà vu. Rodney might come to his lab and remember being there with someone, but he won't be able to pinpoint that it was me." Meredith's face dropped a little at this, "After a while they won't remember anything at all. I've already hacked the data logs to make a small note of a Pegasus fever that SGA1 encountered while off-world to explain any lack of memory of the whole 'Michael' thing."

Liz nodded slowly, handing the tablet back to her friend, "will it happen to us to?"

She shrugged again, "maybe. There's no way to know. We're going to have to brief the Torren and Cam on this. Dad will take care of telling the others after we leave."

Liz stopped biting her lip, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Alright, I guess we should get this over with, huh?" She looked once more at Meredith, and saw her own sadness reflected in the girl's blue eyes.

She took a deep breath and, throwing back her shoulders, she turned and made her way confidently toward the ship.

SGASGASGASGA

"Everything ship-shape?"

Torren looked over and dropped his hands from where he'd been securing a bag in the Tepe's cargo hold, "Yes, I am just completing some last minute checks."

John nodded, standing with his hands in his pockets, "Missing anything?" He asked lightly.

"No, but it never hurts to be sure. Meredith is notorious for forgetting things."

"The absent minded professor." John mumbled, smiling to himself. He was quite sure Rodney would go off world with nothing more than his LSD and a tablet if John didn't set out a tac vest and p90 for him.

"What?"

"Nothing," John shook his head. Torren gave him a funny look and shrugged. He turned and began walking along the interior of the jumper, scanning the walls carefully, "you lose something?"

"Hm? Oh, no," he flipped golden hair from his eyes and bent to look under a console in the forward section, "But Cam likes to hide-" he pulled on the under part of the console and something came off in his hand. He held it up for John to see, "knives within arms-reach." He unfolded from the handle a four inch blade and examined it, "she's a little paranoid."

John nodded, eyeing the jagged edged blade cautiously and made a mental note to check the jumper a little closer the next time Ronon went off world with him.

"With the way things have been going for you guys, I'd say she has good reason."

Torren shrugged and after folding the knife, slipped it into his pocket, "Perhaps. But if we have a crash landing we're all going to be…" he looked up, rolled his eyes and reached up to pluck another knife from the wall above the bulkhead, "impaled," he finished, dryly.

John almost smiled and looked at his boots as Torren tossed the knife onto one of the seats to be found by it's owner later.

"It's a heavy load." He said quietly.

Torren looked around the cargo hold, "Maybe a little but I think it can handle it."

This time he did smile, but wouldn't look at the boy, "I meant the burden of leadership." When Torren gave him a funny look, he continued, "You watch out for them. You keep them safe. They look to you for guidance." He shrugged one shoulder, "I know that's a lot of weight to carry."

Torren looked away, pushing his hands into his trouser pockets, "Oh," he shrugged as well and hesitated, "it never seemed to bother you. I guess you could say I learned by example."

This made John chuckle slightly and he reached up to scratch the back of his neck self-consciously. He stared at the ground for a minute, as if caught up in thought. A few seconds later he looked at Torren again to find the boy staring at him openly.

"You know I, well sometimes I help Teyla with…" he glanced at Torren and away again, "with the baby. And I hold him, and I look at him and I wonder…" he spoke quietly, his face looking far away and lost in memory, "who will he be? What will he be like? Will he learn from our mistakes? Will he be the kind of man that…" he trailed off and looked at Torren again. He smiled crookedly, "After meeting you…well, I guess I have nothing to worry about."

Torren could hardly breathe and for a split second he was ten years old again, hanging on his father's every word. John approached him and, after studying him for a few seconds longer, he laid a hand on one of Torren's broad shoulders.

"I'm proud of you," he pursed his lips and nodded in affirmation. Then, retracing his hands into his pockets, he beat a hasty retreat from the small ship. Torren watched him go. Swallowing hard, he swiped quickly at his eyes and smiled.

Outside the jumper John almost ran into Liz, who was making her way inside.

"Oh, um, hi," she said lamely, sidestepping him and taking great care to avoid eye contact as she passed. John nodded and started to leave and then turned back.

"Hey, Liz."

She stopped and faced him, "yeah?"

John bit his lip thoughtfully and took a few steps toward her, lowering his voice so as not to be overheard, "you really flew the city?"

Her shyness disappeared and she nodded emphatically, "yeah. It was amazing."

John's face brightened with a cross between pride and amazement, "weren't you scared?"

Liz smirked in a way that made John feel like he was looking in a mirror, "you had me flying my first puddle jumper when I was six." She winked at him and turned, heading inside the small craft to speak with her brother.

John smiled and turned away. Why was it he had no problem believing that? Shaking his head, sure Teyla had never approved these early flight lessons, he reached up to his ear.

"Sheppard to Ronon, come in."

There was static as the signal was relayed across the city and then, when a channel opened, a slight popping noise and a Satedan curse.

"What is it Sheppard?" He snapped.

John smirked, "Sorry Ronon, am I interrupting you?"

Several more banging noises preceded Ronon's winded response, "just a little," he grumbled.

"Well tell whoever you're sparring with that you've got to cut it short. The Tepe is ready to go."

A few more banging noises and the thud of someone hitting the mat, probably Ronon's opponent and then a grunted response of, "Understood. Dex out."

John reached up to tap his ear and close the channel and caught sight of Jennifer entering the Bay, Cam on her heels. Meredith was making her way over toward the Alien ship with her eyes glued to a tablet and Sheppard checked his watch.

"Where's McKay?"

Meredith didn't look up, "He'll be here in a few minutes, I think he had a meeting with Carter this morning."

SGASGASGASGA

"Wait a second, they're leaving? Now?" Carter sat forward in her chair, putting aside the tablet McKay had handed her with all the deciphered information the children had provided them on Michael.

"Well, they're ship is repaired and Michael is dead so…yeah." He stood in front of her desk, that 'too many tasks and not enough time' flush on his face.

Carter stood and rounded her desk, straightening her jacket as she did so. They walked side by side from her office toward the Jumper Bay.

"I was really hoping to open some trade agreements with them," she said mostly to herself.

McKay's eyes widened slightly as he tried to remember the cover story Meredith had told him, she'd suspected such an offer from Carter and so had briefed him on their response.

"Yes they um…well they…" he started, searching his mind for a clue. Damn. If he hadn't been so much more interested in the simulations they were running at the time and he might have paid some attention to what she'd been saying. He cleared his throat and decided to wing it, hoping he'd observed Sheppard and Teyla talking themselves out of enough sticky situations to make this believable, "I've already asked them about that, any labs and things on their planet that might have ancient technology and they just, um, they don't seem open to it." He rushed onto the transporter and Carter followed, a curious look on her face.

"Really? Why not?"

McKay sighed, couldn't she just take his word for it? "I don't know, some voodoo superstitious nonsense about the whole planet being a sacred burial ground for their people or something," he shrugged and ignored the feel of Carters appraising stare on the back of his neck as they left the transporter and headed for the Bay doors.

"And you just…left it at that?" She didn't sound like she was buying it.

"Yes well I didn't think it was worth starting a war over," he said as irritably as he could, "I mean, they do know a lot about us I didn't think it would be in our best interests to piss them off."

Carter considered this and nodded, "okay, that makes sense. It sure would have been nice to get our hands on one of those modified jumpers though."

McKay smirked, now _this_ he remembered. He could recognize his own work a mile away. "Well that's not going to happen either, it's the only one of it's kind and they're obviously not giving it up."

Carter sighed accepting McKay's explanation grudgingly. She clasped her hands behind her back as they entered the bay and most of Sheppard's team as well as the Yanarins watched them approach.

"Where are Ronon and Alin?" She asked, glancing around. Teyla stood beside John on one side, Jennifer was on the other. And the oldest Yanarin, his sister, the blonde and the Co-commander all stood to Carter's left, forming a half circle around the back of the Tepe.

Just as she finished saying it the Bay doors opened once more and the men in question entered, skin glistening slightly with sweat and each holding _bantos_ sticks.

Sheppard smirked when he noticed Ronon doing his best not to limp. Perhaps it hadn't been Ronon's opponent who'd hit the mat.

"You alright there big guy?" he asked when Ronon came to stand just behind Jennifer. Ronon just glared at him.

"It has truly been a pleasure," Carter stepped forward, addressing the group of Yanarins but talking to Torren, "you are young people of character and strength, a fine testament to your people. Though it was our first time working as 'partners' I sincerely hope that it is not our last."

Torren stepped away from his group, meeting Carter in the middle of their small circle.

"That is my hope as well Colonel," he said, extending his right hand with a smile. Carter smiled back and shook it. Then Torren looked up at John breifly and he led the way onto the ship, the rest of his crew following dutifully.

Once they were inside they all turned back and looked at their young parents one last time. They all knew too much had been said and done and yet, somehow, it still seemed not enough. With Carter there they knew the words that tickled their lips with want could not get out and instead, hoped their eyes conveyed everything their voices could not. Then, all but Torren turned and got settled in the forward area.

"You take care of that crew of yours, Commander." John said as the large cargo door began to close. His voice was not unlike the one he would use when drilling his Marines.

Only Torren's eyes smiled when he responded, "I will." He dipped his chin once and the door sealed between them.

SGA1 stood back and watched in silence as the Tepe, carrying it's young, precious cargo, lifted into the air and was expertly flown through the ceiling opening. When it was through, the door shut again, blocking the light and their view of the disappearing ship.

Carter was the first to leave, the gate room had radioed for her almost immediately, leaving the rest of the team mostly alone in the jumper bay that suddenly felt inexplicably large and empty.

"I will miss them," Teyla said finally, breaking the silence that had fallen.

"We'll see them again someday." Everyone turned to look at John, who had his hands in his pockets and was still staring at the ceiling.

"You're sure?" she asked, coming to stand closer to him.

John thought a moment and then glanced at each of them in turn, all watching him, waiting for his response.

He nodded, "I'm sure."

_TBC_


	18. Running to the Light

**A/N:** Okay, this is the second to last chap I hope you enjoy it even if it is a little short. There is a reference to one of my other fics called 'Anoch' in this chapter. You don't have to read it to understand the reference, but it might be fun.

**Disclaimer**: Not mine. I tried to put my name on them, but they just kept wiggling!

**Chapter Eighteen – Running for the Light**

The Tepe fell out of time-space and hovered over Yanaris. Liz quickly regained her equilibrium from faster than light travel and began a slow decent into the atmosphere. Everyone held their breath and waited for her to finish scanning the planet.

Impatient as ever, Cam elbowed Meredith in the ribs.

"So, did it work?"

Meredith sighed, fingers nimble as they slid across her console, "well the idea is to go arrive back in the same moment we left to prevent further time-line disruption. Too early and we risk running into ourselvesand disrupting our original trip , too late and…well that could just be bad."

"Okay so…did it work?" Cam asked again, her eyes bouncing between the view screen and the back of Meredith's head in turn.

Liz' eyes went wide, "Oh my God," she breathed and bent further over the controls. Torren leaned over from the co-pilots chair.

"What? What is it?"

"We're being hailed," she said excitedly, "From Atlantis and Torren…it's on the surface!"

Torren's eyes went wide to match his sisters and he could feel the presence of Meredith, Cam and Ben as they crowded around their chairs.

"Lets see it."

In moments the HUD was replaced with a picture of Atlantis. Their home floated peacefully on the surface of the water as if awaiting their arrival.

"Um, you guys?" Liz sounded unsure and Torren looked over at her, "You've got to hear this."

Seconds later a familiar voice filled the cabin.

"Jumper One respond. Torren that better be you."

They all looked at one another, hardly breathing, afraid to believe.

"Open a channel," Torren ordered, his voice straining just to sound something like normal.

Liz did gripping her flight controls so tightly her knuckles were white.

John sighed at the sight of them, relief and irritation hitting him all at once. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Alright, I want an explanation and I want it now." He said, folding his arms over his chest, "you disappeared without a trace eighteen hours ago and we've been frantically searching the galaxy for you since then." He said harshly, causing the jumper occupants to draw back slightly from the screen. He looked up at the video feed coming from the jumper, feeling a little guilty for the startled looks on their faces, but he'd been worried, _dammit!_ Waking up and finding them gone, having Ronon and Rodney come and tell him the others were gone…he'd never been so worried in his life.

"We, um-" Torren searched his mind for a reasonable explanation, knowing 'time travel' was certainly off the table. But the sight of his father and mother before him, his father and mother they way he _remembered_ them, gray hairs and all, was putting a damper on his usually quick-witted mind.

"Anoch."

They all turned and John's eyes refocused behind his son on Ben.

The boy looked at the others in the jumper, just as surprised as the rest to hear himself speaking.

"We got word of an upcoming Anoch," he continued quickly, not allowing himself to focus too much on the actual act of forming words on his suddenly cooperative lips, "we didn't think you would let us go."

"So you stole a jumper?" Teyla said, incredulously. She stood beside John, glaring at the children on the other side of the view screen.

"We brought it back." Cam whined, her shock quickly turning to elation and she fought to hide a grin.

"Figures," an older, balder version of Rodney McKay piped up. He looked at John, "that _your_ kids would be the ones to hijack a jumper so they could go to the Pegasus version of Woodstock."

John looked over his shoulder, "Well I noticed your daughter isn't conspicuously absent from this little escapade, and I don't think Cam, Ben, Liz _or_ Torren know how to get the Jumper Hyper drive adapter to engage." John raised an eyebrow and Rodney had no response. "Besides," he said, turning back to the viewer, "it's not just Woodstock, it's Woodstock wrapped in Mardi Gras dipped in New Years Eve."

"Elizabeth Sheppard bring that jumper in. _Now_." Teyla's no-nonsense tone left no room for argument.

"And you're all grounded," Jennifer piped up from behind her.

"Indefinitely," Ronon added, standing to Jennifer's right directly behind John.

"After you park the jumper and report to your quarters. We'll deal with you there." John said. The children nodded and he looked them over once more to be sure they were truly safe and closed the channel.

Teyla turned to him and crossed her arms.

"Still glad you gave her all those flying lessons when she was younger?"

John rolled his eyes, "Okay, okay. You were right."

Jennifer sighed and leaned against Ronon.

"I'm just glad they're home safe," he rumbled.

"I can't believe they did that to us!" Jennifer said, covering her face with her hands.

John shook his head, draping his arm around Teyla's waist as he turned to address the gate room.

"It's them, call off the searches Chuck. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to go kill our children."

Relieved and amused smiles were reflected all over the gate room as the five exhausted adults left.

"We're glad they're home safe, General."

SGASGASGASGA

The channel closed and they all stared in silence at the blank screen for several moments.

"That just figures," Cam said finally, dropping back into her chair, "we save the galaxy and get grounded for it."

"I can't believe it worked." Ben said. He was sitting in his chair, staring at the ground in amazement.

"You can speak." Liz whispered. It wasn't a question.

He looked up at her and grinned, "I can do more than that. I can hear."

Torren, Cam and Liz looked at him wide-eyed, mouths gaping, searching for something to say. Meredith had no such problem.

"Of course," the all turned to see her feverishly working to deactivate the flux capacitor and disguise it in the floor panels to be dealt with later, "by destroying Michael in the past, we changed the course of the timeline and apparently exactly how we wanted to." She shoved the panel back in place and sat up, pushing blonde hairs out of her eyes.

"Anything that didn't have to do with Michael remained the same," she pointed to a scar on her right wrist from when she'd burnt herself trying to build a Naquadah/Stargate interface when she was 12, "but the other things, like the deaths of our parents and the accident that made Ben deaf…they never happened."

They all turned to look at one another, matching grins on all their faces. Something suddenly occurred to Liz.

"Wait a second, what if more than just that has changed?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, the entire course of our lives has changed if Michael isn't there. What if there's people we should know that we don't? Things we do in this time that we didn't before?" When Meredith didn't seem to have an answer they all looked at Torren.

He looked at the screen, which still showed Atlantis on the surface.

He took a deep breath, "it'll be fine." He looked back at them, "we've gotten good at making things up on the spot. Just do what we've always done. Be smart, pay attention and think fast." He shrugged and smiled encouragingly. "Trust me, everything is going to turn out just fine."

They all settled back into their seats, trusting him because he'd asked them to. And because there had never been any reason not to.

_TBC_


	19. Back to the Future

**A/N:** I lied. This is not the last chap (I know, you're crushed) I decided to add one more. Partially because the last scene just didn't fit in this chapter and, partially because I'm a wee bit OCD and the thought of this fic ending on 19 was just niggling at me.

**Disclaimer**: Just keep bringing it up, why dontcha?

**Chapter Nineteen – Back to the Future**

John sat in the main room of his family's quarters, trying to read and sign off on some off-world reports, but finding that his concentration on the task was even more scarce than usual.

Teyla had watched him from their bedroom door for several minutes before approaching.

"You're tired," she said, wrapping her silk purple over-coat around herself and sitting beside him, "you should come to bed. It is late."

He nodded, rubbing his eyes for the third time in as many minutes. He put the tablet he'd been working on aside and sat back against the couch.

"I know, but I've been putting them off for a while and their due to Megan in the morning."

Teyla nodded, running a hand through her hair as she sat quietly beside her husband, waiting for him to voice whatever it was that was _really _on his mind. It didn't take long.

"Did you hear anything about an upcoming Anoch?"

She looked over, but he was staring ahead blankly at his tablet. She sighed, so that was what had been bothering him. She really couldn't blame him, the same thought had crossed her mindmore than once.

"I did not." She answered truthfully.

"Neither did any of the off-world teams." He pursed his lips, glancing at her as if just realizing she was there, "I don't think there was any Anoch."

Teyla sighed deeply and pulled her feet up under her on the couch, "I believe you are correct. But-" she continued quickly, seeing John tense in preparation for action, "it is not in them to lie to us, John. If they are not telling us the whole truth, there must be an explanation."

"Yeah, all the more reason to make them tell us. What if they're in some kind of danger? They were gone for eighteen hours, Teyla. That's nearly an entire day unaccounted for."

She placed a steadying hand on his arm, "They are strong, John. They are smart and," she paused, waiting for him to look at her, "they are not children anymore. They are all home safe and unharmed. This time, I believe we should leave it at that."

John bit his lip, unconsciously entwining his fingers with hers as he considered this.

Teyla smiled encouragingly and moved to stand, tugging him along with her, "come to bed. You need rest," she said again.

This time he stood and followed her, begrudgingly accepting her logic.

"I know but I wasn't kidding about those reports, Megan's going to have my ass tomorrow."

Teyla turned when they reached the door and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Do not worry General Sheppard," she smiled seductively, "your 'ass' has already been claimed."

John grinned and she pulled him into the privacy of their room, just as a shadowy figure crossed the balcony outside, heading for the 'Dex' quarters next door.

SGASGASGASGA

Ben's eyes popped open when he felt the weight of another in his bed. When he turned and saw it was Liz, as he'd expected, he leapt from beneath the covers as if the sheets were on fire.

"What?" Liz asked, confused.

"Elizabeth are you crazy? Your dad already wants to kill me, are you trying to give him another reason?" Ben whispered somewhat loudly, only to be exasperated when, instead of looking remorseful, she grinned. "What are you smiling at?"

She shrugged slightly, "your voice."

Ben stood down from his defensive stance and lifted his hands. The thought of signing hadn't even crossed his mind. It had been second nature to him since childhood and yet, at that moment, the most natural thing to do had been to speak, and he had.

He looked back at her, renewing his frown, "what are you doing here Liz? Your dad _will _kill me."

She settled down on her pillow, "why would he do that? I'm in _your _quarters, not the other way around."

"I guess," he said, cautiously moving back towards the bed and, after some hesitation, climbing back under the covers. He lay on his side so he could face her.

"Did you hear?" Liz grinned again, her whisper sounding of disbelief, "I have two brothers and sister."

Ben smiled at her excitement, reaching for her hand out of habit, "Kyle, Byron and Ukume." He said without thinking.

"My brothers are named-" she made a face, "someone told you?"

Ben stopped moving, realizing what he'd said. He shook his head, "no, I just…knew."

They stared at one another, bewildered for a moment, until realization started to show in Liz' eyes.

"What is it?"

She bit her lip, "Meredith said this might happen. That at the same time that we're forgetting about the "mission", we'll be remembering the parts of our life that are indigenous to this time line." She smiled and closed her eyes.

"I can't believe it worked," she whispered to herself.

Ben pulled her closer, "Believe it," he kissed her gently and they settled in for sleep, "this is our life."

His words made her smile and they both drifted off.

SGASGASGASGA

Liz had been staring at the ceiling of her darkened room for nearly an hour before she got back out again. She opened her door soundlessly, knowing her father was out in the main room.

He sat on the sofa in flannel pajamas and a blue robe and the lights dimmed overhead. She could see papers and tablets scattered on the table before him, but he wasn't looking at those. Instead he had a cup of hot coffee in one hand, his slippered feet propped up on the table, looking through a photo album on his lap.

She stepped forward into the soft light of the room and waited for him to look up at her.

"Meredith," he said, "what are you doing awake?"

She shrugged, "do I really have to go with Uncle Radek tomorrow to check out the low level power readings coming from M98-887?" she asked, her tone pleading, "it's going to be _so _boring."

Rodney dropped his feet from the table and put his coffee aside, "of course you don't have to go," Meredith brightened, "as long as you tell me the truth about where you were yesterday of course."

She pursed her lips and stiffened, "At an Anoch. We all were."

"You and I both know that's not true, Mere."

"I know no such thing."

Rodney rolled his eyes and Meredith, considering the subject dropped, moved to sit beside him on the couch. She crossed her legs indian style and looked at the album he'd closed but still had on his lap. She knew what was inside.

"We never talk about her."

Rodney looked down at the photo album as if he'd forgotten it was there. Slowly, he lifted the cover to reveal the few photos he had that had been taken of his wife while she was live.

"I've never known what to say." He said after a moment.

She frowned, taking the album and spreading it on her lap. She ran her fingers delicately over the old photos.

"Just...tell me about her." She asked, studying the photos with a kind of reverent curiosity.

"Tell you what?" he shrugged, looking down at the picture that had captured her attention. It was of him and his wife sitting in the Mess hall, sharing a cup of blue jello and a tablet.

"Everything. I never knew her." She shrugged and turned the page, looking at a picture that looked to have been taken without their knowledge. From across the infirmary it caught her father looking up at her mother from his bed, saying something that was making her smile.

"You're just like her." He said softly, looking at that picture sent shivers down his spine.

"Everyone says I'm just like you." Meredith looked up at him.

He nodded, "in some ways. But in other ways, the way you laugh, your optimism...those are just like her. You even sound like her sometimes."

She smiled, "really?"

Rodney looked at his daughter and smiled as well, "especially when you're telling me I shouldn't worry about you in a situation where I clearly should."

Meredith rolled her eyes in a distinctly 'McKay' fashion and dropped her head back, "_dad_ we were…"

"Why can't you tell me where you _really_ were?"

She sighed, "I can't tell you that either."

"But-"

"Dad please." Meredith looked him squarely in the eyes, begging him to understand, "trust me."

Rodney looked at her for several long minutes before finally sighing and nodding. He pulled her toward him and kissed her forehead, "alright. Fine. But I don't have to like it."

Meredith shook her head, smiling, and snuggled up against his chest, listening intently while he told her mother's story.

SGASGASGASGA

"She's been out there for over an hour."

Jennifer looked up from her desk to see Ronon standing near the windows that looked out on the balcony, watching as Cam stood in the wind, staring at the dark ocean.

"She's probably pouting because she can't go off-world tomorrow."

He was quiet for a while and then, "it's cold out. She should come back in."

Jennifer looked back at her laptop and saved her reports before closing it. She got up and went to stand behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle and pressing her face into his back.

"She's fine, Ronon."

"It's cold," he repeated.

She smiled and shook her head at his stubbornness. Keeping her arms around him, she moved to stand next to him and he put his arm around her shoulder.

"Do you really think there was an Anoch?" She asked quietly, watching as Cam's figure moved to lean against the railing, still looking up at the moons.

"No." Came his simple answer.

"Me either," she frowned, "Where do you think they were?"

"I don't know."

She looked up at him then, but he continued staring outside at his daughter.

"Well, don't you want to know?"

He shrugged, glancing down at her questioning face, "If they could tell us, they would have."

She considered this, "what if they're in some sort of trouble?"

"We'll protect them."

She thought a moment longer, "why do you think they're lying about it?"

He shrugged again, "they must have a good reason."

She turned back to the window and they watched as Torren's silhouette approached Cam's still form at the railing.

Jen smiled softly and tugged on Ronon's arm, pulling him away to give the young people some privacy. Somewhat reluctantly, Ronon followed.

"I guess what you're trying to say, is that I shouldn't worry so much. And that I should trust them and their judgment," she looked at him, "right?"

Ronon just smiled, bending to kiss her quickly, "All I'm saying, is that it's cold outside."

SGASGASGASGA

Cam stared up at the twin moons of this planet. Of her home. The lunar satellites had been her nightlights as a child. She wasn't sure the smile she was wearing had faltered from her lips since the moment she and her team had stepped out of the jumper, and she didn't stifle it now.

_Home_. She just kept thinking it over and over in her mind. Home. Only a home she'd never known, one so much better than the one she'd left. She almost couldn't believe it was hers.

She watched the waves crash into the side of the pier from the balcony, not looking up when she heard Torren approaching from his side. He came to the railing, standing much closer than usual it seemed, but she said nothing and didn't move away to preserve her space.

"Are you really grounded for life?"

She laughed a little, "no, but I'm not allowed to go off-world tomorrow to help the medical team administer first aid to a people called the Therish who just suffered a major natural disaster," she turned to look at him playfully, "apparently I'm extremely disappointed about it."

Torren smiled, nodding, "I was supposed to negotiate a trade agreement next week with the rest of SGA2 on a planet in the Ryin system. My mother is going to take my place."

Cam gave him a funny look, "the _rest_ of SGA2?"

"Other than me." He said without thinking, and then looked at her, "whoa."

She smiled, still slightly wide-eyed, "Meredith said this would happen."

He nodded, "it's weird."

"No kidding. Try keeping a shocked look off your face when two little boys who are the spitting image of your grandfather come running at you and wrap themselves around your legs." She said, glancing inside the window of her quarters. Torren nodded, he'd "met" Cam's younger brothers, Sam and Nolai earlier in the Mess.

They stood quietly beside one another for a while longer, watching the moons reflect on the ocean. Torren saw Cam turn to look at him out of the corner of his eye.

He turned his head and found her face inches from his own.

"What?" he whispered, his breath turning to white when it hit the cool air.

"I've decided to try something new." Her voice was low but he could hear the smile in it.

"And what's that?"

She shifted, leaning minutely closer to him, "being happy."

"That _is_ new." He teased, "how does it work?"

She glanced down at his lips, "like this." She muttered inaudibly, and closed the distance between them. She kissed him for the second time in her memory, though it felt inexplicably more familiar than that.

She didn't feel the pain of old memories when he touched her back to pull her closer, the way she usually did. Her heart hammered in her chest, but not because it hurt to be so near to him. Her breath left her, but it wasn't because she was missing an innocence she felt she'd never truly had.

This time when he touched her, she responded in kind. When he pulled her close she molded herself to him in a way that felt like habit. When her heart hammered her stomach fluttered and she smiled against his lips. And when she found she couldn't breathe, she reluctantly pulled her mouth away, resting her forehead against his.

The cold air shocked her lungs as she gulped it in greedily, coming down from the rush caused by the feeling of his tounge on hers. Torren clasped his hands at the small of her back, keeping her close and sharing his warmth.

He whispered something about 'like you happy', but she didn't hear him. She was caught up with something laying gently against his collar bone.

She reached up and took hold of the string the jewel hung on and pulled it out of the collar of his tunic. She squinted at it, recognizing the deep blue stone and it's intricate silver inlay. The necklace was similar to what she'd seen on many planets in Pegasus. The purpose was always the same, no matter the difference in color or design.

"It's an Athosian Promise jewel," she told him, what he already knew, "who are you promised to?" She asked, too shocked to be hurt.

"I think I may know the answer to that."

She looked up and found him staring at her own neck. He unhooked one of his arms from around her waist and pulled a similar black string from her collar. This one was red and it's inlay of silver had a different pattern than his own.

"Look familiar?"

Cam examined the necklace. It looked very much like the one her father had given her mother all those years ago. She still wore it often.

"It's a Satedan..."

"Promise jewel." Torren finished, smiling. He suddenly had a vague memory of a conversation with Ronon about Cam. Asking him something about his daughter, the answer had made him happy and nervous at the same time, but the details were too fuzzy to pinpoint.

"We're…" She looked hesitant and felt a little stiff so he entwined his hands again behind her back to prevent her from pulling away.

"Are you upset?" He asked, not sure how to read her reaction.

After a long moment she looked back up at him. Her green eyes were swimming in tears, but something deep inside him told him these were a different kind of tears. A good kind.

His suspicions were confirmed when she laced her arms around his back and put her head on his chest, turning her face up to the moons and, when he looked down, he saw that she was smiling.

_TBC_


	20. Gone but Not Forgotten

**A/N:** So here it is, the final chapter. It's been a long, wonderful journey and I hope you enjoy the last part of it. I'm sure I'll be back soon, another fic another time...

**Disclaimer**: Twenty chapters later I have to say: Still got the fake dreads? Then _still not mine_.

**Chapter Twenty – Gone but Not Forgotten**

Lunchtime on Atlantis was the busiest in the Mess. All the early risers were back for a second meal and those who had trouble getting started in the morning were finally ready for their first. But no matter how crowded the hall was, SGA1 could always be found sitting around the same table near the wall, bathed in sunshine if there were no clouds.

Jennifer was sitting beside Ronon, across from Teyla and John as they ate what the marines affectionately called 'space food' which mostly consisted of reheated meat, indigenous Pegasus fruit and rehydrated drinks.

Whatever John had said left the whole table in fits of laughter as Rodney left the lunch line and made his way toward them. Without a word, Ronon pulled up a recently vacated seat and placed it on the end between himself and Sheppard.

"Hello Rodney," Teyla greeted him.

"Hm? Oh, hi." He nodded absently and sat in the chair, an odd frown on his face.

"Is everything alright?" Jennifer asked, glancing at John and Ronon, who both shrugged.

"Yeah I just," he looked up from his tray at them, "I've just been having this weird feeling of déjà vu all week. Not all the time but much more frequently than usual. In my lab, in the Mess, walking down the hall. Even in the jumper bay."

"Déjà vu?" Ronon looked at Sheppard for clarification.

"A feeling like you've been in a certain place before, but you can't quite remember why."

Ronon shrugged, "it's Atlantis, of course we've been here before."

"No, I actually think I know what he's talking about."

They all turned to Jennifer.

"I know I'm in the infirmary everyday but…it's weird," she glanced at Rodney, "like this morning, I had to give one of the engineers four stitches and I could have sworn I heard myself having the exact same conversation before, but I couldn't remember with who."

John frowned and Ronon sat back from the table, looking pensive.

"I have had a similar feeling," Teyla began, "could it not be a side effect of the virus we encountered when we were on the planet where we defeated Michael?"

Rodney nodded, "it's probable it's just…weird. I don't like feeling like I'm missing something, makes me paranoid."

"More than usual?" John quipped and Rodney sent him a glare.

"I don't like this whole thing with Michael. This memory blocking virus we got."

"I did a full scan on all of you, there will be no ill effects that I'm aware of." Jennifer told him, wishing to put Ronon's mind at ease. He hunched over his tray, frowning.

"Yeah but, if I can't remember killing him I'm not sure I'll ever be able to really believe he's gone."

Teyla sighed, returning to her food, "as long as the mass poisonings stop, I am willing to believe just about anything."

Jennifer and Rodney nodded.

"What's got you so happy?" Ronon asked a few minutes later.

They all looked up to see Sheppard smiling at his tray. He looked up at them and shook his head slightly, as if clearing it.

"I don't know. For a second I just got this…feeling."

"That seems to be happening a lot lately."

"What kind of feeling?"

He bit his lip thoughtfully and looked at each of them in turn, "Just…a weird 'everything's going to be okay' kind of feeling." He shrugged, thinking he sounded a little crazy. But when he looked at the others he saw they were smiling in much the same way he had been, and he got the impression they knew exactly what he meant.

"Hey, um, Jennifer, who's working today?" Rodney asked a few minutes later.

"Today?" she squinted up at the ceiling, thinking, "I'm on duty all day, Marie will be there, Dr. Mitchem and Nurses Prescott and Simms…oh and that new Doctor who got here off the Deadalus last week. Nicole…Nicole Welsh. Why do you ask?"

"Oh I've just been…I was thinking I might come down by the infirmary today, I um…have some hand pain I thought I might get something for."

She furrowed her brow slightly, "okay…but why did you need to know who's working? No one would deny dispensing painkillers Rodney, least of all you."

He shrugged and suddenly became very interested in his ham sandwich. Jennifer looked at Teyla and then back at Rodney, still looking confused. Ronon and John were both burning a hole into the top of the scientists' head with their suspicious stares.

"Rodney," John drawled, "is there something you'd like to tell us?"

Ronon started to grin, "I think he's got a crush."

Despite his face being bent downward, John saw his face and ears turn red and it only confirmed their suspicions. Before long, all four of them were grinning like Cheshire cats.

"Do you have a crush on the new doctor, Rodney?" John asked slowly, his tone more than a little teasing.

Rodney shot up from his chair like it was on fire.

"I have to go. Now." He took his tray and left the table, weaving through the crowd as quickly as possible for the doors.

"Oh, he's got it bad." Jennifer said when he disappeared out into the hallway. She looked at Teyla who was nodding in agreement and Ronon who was on the verge of laughing out loud.

"You know what, guys?" John said, glancing at the doors and then back at his team, "I think we should introduce our new doctor to a little Atlantis tradition called 'Movie Night'."

"When is the next one?" Teyla asked, still smiling.

"Tomorrow night." Ronon answered.

"I'll make sure Nicole gets the night off." Jennifer said, finishing her plate and pushing it underneath Ronon's.

John nodded, "it's settled then. Tomorrow night, our cranky scientist gets a girl."

"I just hope he doesn't wear that horrible cologne." Jennifer said, wrinkling her nose, "Katie has told me stories that would curl your hair."

"I don't need to be told, I lived it." John said, "he used to wear it off world, until it got him attacked by this hive of massive killer bees on MP4-219. It was sweeter than honey to the things, I thought he was going to wet his pants."

"I think he did." Ronon commented.

Teyla smiled softly, "I certainly hope this Nicole is a very patient woman."

"She'll love him," Jennifer shook her head with a smile, "in the end we all do."

"Yeah, 'cause if we didn't, we'd kill him." Ronon said, earning an elbow in the ribs from Jennifer.

"Aw, give the guy a break," John chided playfully, "I mean, think about it. This could be the beginning of a beautiful thing for Rodney. I mean, this Nicole, could be '_the one'_."

"_The one_? Does Rodney even believe in that kind of thing?"

"Oh believe me Doc, you'd be surprised what I know," John said, going back to his food, "you think he talks a lot now? Try taking first watch with him on a dark alien planet that he's convinced has wolf-like predators bent on devouring him. Rodney is _definitely_ a nervous talker."

"Really?" Jennifer smiled, looking at Ronon and said with a note of sarcasm, "I never would have guessed."

The rest of the conversation was lost in the gentle murmur of the filled cafeteria. Laughter and arguments ebbed and flowed with a natural rhythm in the room and one conversation was hardly distinguishable from the next.

And all around them, Atlantis was there, smiling. Because she understood the feeling of ease the team had felt earlier. She too had the feeling that 'everything was just going to be alright'.

END


End file.
